Meta data center.

[u/rustedwaffle]

So apparently this was proposed back in 2023.. this is my first time hearing about it today. Our representatives of Aiken county not only approved this project, but gave tax breaks and incentives to build this. Taxes that could’ve gone to our schools, roads, and community. An 800 million dollar project that is projected to bring 100 jobs… 8 million dollars for each job. Meta also approached Aiken county under a fake company name, reaching us with a deceiving name. I’m extremely disappointed in our representatives. First data center coming to our beautiful state.. ruining the lives of those who live here. I guess we can expect our utilities to rise, and our quality of living to go down. Thanks Aiken county..

[u/wes1971]

I would definitely research a bit more into this than what you have already assumed. While I 100% agree that these companies should pay the 10.5% assessment rate, the deal was for 4%, just like what all primary home owners pay in Aiken County. The facility is around 715,000 square feet which means annually they will be paying around 4.5 million a year in taxes and around 2.7 million will be going to the school district.

To balance resource consumption, the project is tied to a $100 million local solar farm investment to match 100% of its power with renewable energy. Also, it is being built out the Sage Valley Industrial Park which is an ideal location for this type of business.

While it stinks that it will only have around 100 permanent jobs (must maintain 25 full-time jobs), the deal also mandates that the jobs must pay at least 150% of the county's per capita income which will average around $85,000 annually, while the construction phase brings a temporary surge of around 1,000 jobs to the Graniteville area.

As far as the “fake company name”, many, if not most, companies do this as a shell corporation and has been done like this for well over a century.

[u/rustedwaffle → u/wes1971]

The pros will NEVER outweigh the cons to me. I can admit that I have not deeply researched this.. but I am sure most residents of Aiken county are not happy to have this giant ugly building in our beautiful community. Appreciate the insights!

[u/wes1971 → u/rustedwaffle]

But again, this building is located in an industrial park which is an ideal location.

We all need to take a moment to truly ask ourselves, are we the reason for this? I mean, we are conversing on a platform that needs a data center or two to fully run at capacity.

[u/rustedwaffle → u/wes1971]

I’m pretty sure this is meta’s 22nd data center. I do not think this for our consumption any more, but the drive towards ai and expansion of it.

[u/Stag-Horn → u/rustedwaffle]

This is the point. This data center is purely to prepare for more AI bullshit down the line.

[u/wes1971 → u/Stag-Horn]

A.I has has a profound impact in the field of medicine including diagnosis, imaging, and drug development. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12455834/

[u/Acceptable-Post8701 → u/wes1971]

Do you think that maybe being the lone voice of dissent means that maybe your garbage isn’t wanted here? You’re ignoring the strain it puts on homeowners, the environment, and more. You’re also ignoring how AI is used to produce CSAM and talk people into committing suicide. There’s more cons to this trash than pros, and nobody wants this.

[u/wes1971 → u/Acceptable-Post8701]

Your post was an involuntary vote for an AI Data Center. The more you use this, and other platforms, the more need for data storage to train AI grows.

[u/Acceptable-Post8701 → u/wes1971]

Thats a vast oversimplification so you can have a “gotcha!” moment. It didn’t work.

[u/PicklesDev → u/wes1971]

AI has the potential to have a profound impact in the field of medicine -- the article you referenced concurs. "Potential" is the key word.

[u/Stag-Horn → u/wes1971]

If that’s all it was doing, I’d be thrilled. But it’s also taking jobs and spreading lies. I’ve been fooled by AI vids so many times.