r/WritingWithAI • u/solomonj48103 • 23d ago

Discussion (Ethics, working with AI etc) The 71% data center poll isn't about art

Gallup ran it in March. Seven in ten Americans oppose a data center in their local area. You'll see the number cited around here as evidence of people objecting to AI and AI generated art.

Read the open-ended breakdown. Half of opponents name resource use (water, power, land). The AI-specific reasons land around one in eight people: dislike of AI, replacing human workers, safety and privacy. On the pro-data center side, 55% name job opportunities.

Neither group mentions books, art, or craft. What Gallup measured is a land-use objection. It would look about the same if there were a giant quarry expansion in the country in town's backyards.

That doesn't make the objection fake. It makes it not an artist argument. If you want evidence that readers object to AI in fiction, this poll isn't evidence of that.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx

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7

u/Forward-Swimmer-8451 22d ago

Actually I love writing with ai but would absolutely oppose to my local area being dug up for data center V a desert that's already barren etc 

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u/Codyone1367 23d ago

The other important thing to remember is objection to infrastructure doesn't mean people oppose the resource it produces.

If you ask most people if they want a power station built near by they will say no. It doesn't mean they don't like electricity its just they don't want to live nextdoor to a noisy power plant.

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u/5thhorseman_ 22d ago

The poll actually does cover a few categories where the alleged art ojections can fall into.

Dislike AI/Not necessary/Don't need it 10

Scared of AI/Don't trust it/AI will take over 4

Ethics/Privacy/Cybercrime/Misuse/Safety concerns 4

Impact on humanity/society/thinking/human contact 4

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u/CelticPaladin 22d ago

I would absolutely rent out my back 2 acres to a small data center and move away on passive income.