I’ve got a conspiracy theory about this.

Short answer: I think the new data centers are meant to house the uploaded consciousness of the bourgeoisie. Whether they actually have that technology, I’m not sure. The ultra-wealthy have been well aware of climate change, and I think we’re headed for an inflection point in the next couple years, when the emergency becomes undeniable to everyone.

The usual way we think about solving climate change is by cutting the average person’s emissions, whether through rationing or green tech. But if you have zero empathy for other human beings, there’s another way: just reduce the number of human beings, drastically. If you’re a billionaire pursuing that, what do you need? Workers. You can’t do anything without them. You don’t know how to make anything; you just control labor. So where do you put more money and priority than anything else? Artificial minds and artificial bodies: LLMs and robotics.

And if you think the planet’s going to get really bad, you also want to put yourself in a computer. Hence my original theory.

I don’t have hard evidence, other than that they’re doing everything you’d expect if this were the plan: They’re making the world more chaotic, so people die in wars.

They’re rolling back health services that keep people from getting sick and dying (see: RFK). It’s a cull. They’ve shifted from the carrot to the stick. Governments are turning authoritarian fast, and to me that looks like a ruling class desperate to hold onto its power.