Silicon Valley is in denial as a mass backlash against data centers, Flock, and AI glasses takes hold
Silicon Valley is in denial in face of widespread backlash
A wave of public opposition is sweeping the US against data centers, Flock surveillance cameras, and Meta's AI glasses, with polls showing 75% of Americans oppose local data centers and only 9% are more excited than concerned about AI. Tech leaders respond with denial, blaming 'psy-ops' and 'psychosis' instead of acknowledging that people reject projects imposed without democratic input, which symbolize inequality and surveillance. The backlash is rational, rooted in economic disempowerment and distrust of tech executives.
If it turns out the public is incensed by the core tenets of a project like that, well, too bad. There’s too much at stake, best plug our ears and blame the CCP or a psy-op or the media.
- atriarch
This is a multifaceted problem for sure. As the fruit of leveraging LLM use, from my experience, is held in the hands of experienced, skilled, and gray-haired workers, what hope do young kids today have of BEING in this world?
The economic model since the industrial revolution is approaching it's metamorphosis: robotic servants that can do everything for everyone. Who, in that world, can spend the fiat and for what? I think many humans would prefer going back to picking potatoes out of the ground for a bit of silver than to lose agency to the machine. Everyone else is either bunker prepping or plugging into the matrix.
Will we arrive at the Jetsons? Or Warhammer 40k?
- _fat_santa
When it comes to the AI backlash, I think a big problem is that we have absolute terrible messengers and they are spreading terrible messages.
If I go on X, the vibe there around AI is amazing. You have folks constantly talking about cool things that they get their agents to do. Agents can help you make things you didn't have the knowhow to make, teach you things at a level that you couldn't get just by searching Google and take care of the boring parts of your life so you can spend more time doing the things you care about. Overall things are very positive and makes you excited for the future.
Contrast that with the public comments by AI executives. Pretty much all of the messages fall flat at best or are just outright doomery at worst. It's such a stark contrast and while I'm personally really excited for the future, I can totally see how someone who isn't plugged into that world to get a very grim view of the future.
And even when they run ads about AI, it's always the worst examples (thinking of that Gemini ad that talked about writing a letter to your family with AI). I really wish the industry could have a better messenger around this stuff. Don't talk about how it can help you do stuff you already know how to do, run an ad about how it can enable you to do stuff you couldn't do before.
I think the best example of this is a bike mechanic fixing a Reevo bike and writing firmware using Claude Code so it no longer required an app to work[1]. The author outright said he did […]
- red_admiral
Something I never thought would happen: ultra-conservative Moms For Liberty and progressive education campaigners agree on something. Namely "get that AI out of our schools".
The Butlerian Jihad has started.
- Zsfe510asG
SV is also in denial that AI is the final straw that makes people leave the Internet.
- cocacola1
The industry needs messengers that can put out a positive vision that also aren’t creepy or skeezy seeming dudes. I don’t think Zuck’s WSJ manifesto convinced anyone, plus he’s a terrible messenger.
- tescreal
If they're in denial, perhaps they see something bigger at play? Governments are likely very interested in the massive-scale capacities for monitoring and analysis these tools enable. The public might not even matter to the suits in the end.
- imglorp
For one thing, saying the quiet part out loud takes the covers off:
https://www.artisan.co/blog/stop-hiring-humans
For another, apply AI where it's good but stop forcing it where it doesn't belong. Ask the users, they know.
- dmix
Vibecoding meets the long history of viberegulation