Anybody know what they do? What is their purpose? Why do we need so many of them? Been seeing a few flock camera's in Kansas City. Are they connected to data centers?

They can be used to take away our freedoms.

My understanding is that the data centers use their computing power, switching systems, & data files to respond to all the types of inquires we (the public) (and businesses) are making on our smart phones & computers.
Want to know about a river in Omaha Nebraska? Type it into your browser and receive the info. How about how your prescription medication interacts with dairy?. Those inquiries need a library of sorts to find and responds to the request.
When scaled up, think about how one set of toll cameras on a highway need to record the plate information, run it in a database to determine owner, & then bill the owner based on where they entered and left the highway.
Just a couple of easy examples, but the growth is staggering and endless.

Artificial intelligence. Need massive computers to run it. Those people/companies who build them are hoping to make a lot of money from companies and people who pay for the amount of A I they use.

How is the average user paying for it ? Seems like every time one of my internet contracts is up the price goes up at least five bucks a month. My electric bill is constantly creeping up but I'm not using any more electricity.

Used to make strange porn and advertise to you based on what you searched and who you interacted with.

Flock cameras and data centers....nothing to fear good citizens! Surveillance is good for you.

You know how they say, once you post something on the internet it is there forever, all that info has to be stored somewhere. And when they say, you can protect your photos, etc from being lost by storing them "in the cloud", welcome to the cloud.

A data center is just a big building filled with computers. Anything and everything you do on the internet and with technology.

If you’re opposed to data centers then quit using the internet and your phone.

I don't think using internet or phones and being worried about privacy and a growing surveillance apparatus enabled by data centers are mutually exclusive.

Surveillance is a tiny part of what is done in data centers.

Cancer is a tiny cluster of malformed cells.

Which doesn't make it okay.

They are building 2 large ones near me and going through those pross of getting a smaller one aproved 2 are within 15 miles the 3 will be within 40 mins.

The major complains are constant noise, energy and water used.

The most effect I can see for most people thay seem to be asleep about is the power demand.

Basic suply and demand dictates with increased demand we get increased prices. Increased energy prices increas the cost of everything not just our electric bills.

Also why im intrested in adding some solar.

Now if we dont build them and stop or slow down things like AI and terminator movie type systems over obvious potential risk concerns that just opend the door for other countries without those concerns to catch up and thinking about China doing that is also something to consider.

At the end of the day we have no choice what is going to be done will be . I try to look ahead and see how I may benefit and mitigate the possible negatives.

I’m sure no one wants one built near them. But, if what is being said about China overtaking us and directing the future narrative we may wish one day we hadn’t opposed them. I heard the bitcoin mining centers are the ones with the constant roar, I don’t know. The world is ever changing around us in ways most normal people don’t think.

if by "it" you mean surveilance, then I agree. Its not ok.

If by "it" you mean data centers, then I disagree. We can have the same conversation about power stations. Surveilance doesn't exist without power stations. At the moment, the headline reason for most power station expansion is data centers. Lets protest power stations! Power stations power surveilance, burn them all to the ground!

When non-tech people rage against data centers that's more or less what it sounds like to tech people.

Yes!

China is close to catching up to us on AI. The advance of AI is unstoppable. The question is: do we want US companies in the lead and in control, or do we want chinese companies in control. I do not want to learn how to speak chinese.

I would like to know more about them, do they use a lot of electricity? Use a lot of fresh water or any water? Are they noisy? Do they only create jobs during construction, then just a few? Why not put them away from populated areas? The ones I am familiar with are Hermantown and Pine Island MN where the want to build them.

I'm guessing AI itself will, in time, be instrumental in solving the power grid and water usage issues. Change, while I don't like it, is inevitable.

Yes, the "it" I was referring to is the surveillance aspect. That should never be accepted, but it probably will be in the name of progress.