This being the week ending with Halloween, maybe the best way to describe the very controversial issue that city leaders in San Diego are dealing with this week is to call it a boogeyman.
We’re talking about AI data centers. The definition of which according to Google AI, is “a specialized facility designed to handle the heavy computational demands of training, deploying, and running artificial intelligence and machine learning models.”
But these data centers here and around the country have been the target of fierce opposition by it seems almost everyone. Opposition because of what is described as massive resource demands, environmental impacts, and quality-of-life disruptions.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order for a moratorium on any new AI data centers in the city and the council appears to be support the move.
In a statement Monday, the mayor said “I believe San Diego can embrace emerging technologies, attract good-paying jobs and protect the quality of life that makes our city special.”
Local leaders all across the country are dealing with this and it is very likely there will be regulations and tough guidelines for any new data centers.
You would think that those AI models should be smart enough to know that.
(Photo Getty Images)