More and more mainstream analysts are identifying the coming AI crash, which is a good indication that it will happen soon.

So, what happens to all the data centers? They are already built but probably very expensive to maintain. Will many of them just be abandoned? Bought up by cloud computing companies? Scammers? Crypto miners? Can they be parted out and sold off piecemeal?

Will they be put to some productive use, or just become massive e-waste sites left to the locals to deal with?

  • WanderWisley@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    They will just turn all the empty space inside into detention centers and keep all of us locked up.

  • Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    If they’re already operational when that happens, likely sold off to cloud hyper scalers on the cheap. That or they’ll be turned into warehouses.

    Nothing half done will just be abandoned and the land sold.

  • Asafum@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Apparently the US government is looking to give a massive bailout under the guise of “public partnership” so the public will pay for them and then corporations will get to use them and not pay us more than likely. They’ll be put to use, we’ll pay for them to take our jobs. It’s really the best situation possible…

    /Wrist

  • mlg@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The ones being built or planned to be built will have to be sold off.

    Probably not abadndoned, but land owner changing several hands in what is essentially someone buying a vacant lot. Maybe a handful will reuse any existing building already made, but most will be used for something new.

    The existing ones will start their fight to the lowest market price which will probably cause many to either sell to a different cloud provider or change hardware to something more profitable.

    None of the electronic hardware will go to waste because there will always be a demand for it, even if they sell it off at a loss. But any permanent fixtures like industrial cabling, ventilation, piping, etc probably will be wasted.

    There’s still no guarantee on whether it’ll implode or just slowly deflate though. The natural assumption would be that the post IPO pricing will completely wreck sales and value, but they could easily move to an enterprise vendor lock scenario where they can charge whatever they want due to tech stack deals like how MSFT runs teams.

    Remember, they’ll do anything in their power to keep the pumping going, even if it involves tax bailouts.

    • GarboDog@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Hire funny wood it be if they tried to get a tax bail out and Trump approved it but he actually can’t do it since there’s no money left to bail them out

  • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    Survielllance centers for all the data being stolen off your smartphone and flock cameras.

    If anyone thinks I’m wrong, they’re completely blind to what’s going on and their future plan.

    • pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      If anyone thinks I’m wrong, they’re completely blind to what’s going on and their future plan.

      But the hallucination problem means that everyone will end up with a meaningless list of AI hallucinated “prior offenses” that could be used to arrest, detain and disappear literally anyone, based on mismatched unaudited surveillance footage of completely different people.

      I’m thankful that no powerful persons today want a world where they can do that to anyone they find inconvenient.

      It would be genuinely alarming if we had any total assholes out there with wealth or power or both.

    • leadore@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Survielllance centers for all the data being stolen off your smartphone and flock cameras.

      Yes, and other sources. That’s my theory as to why most of them are being built in the first place, regardless of AI.

      • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        I dont believe its a theory. Its absolute fact. Why else would they be requiring cameras in all cars next year, and putting flock cameras all over every city? That surveillance data needs to be stored and sorted through. This is the real reason for the massive push of data centers and bribery of politicians.

        • leadore@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Yes, they’ve been wanting to do it for many years, even before 9/11 but especially after (remember “Total Information Awareness”?–back then the backlash stopped them, but now the populace has been mostly tamed and made compliant). So now with AI/LLM they have not only the perfect cover to build the datacenters but also the means to process all that data–never mind hallucinations, they’re fine with that too.

  • WhatISawInTheWoods@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    My doom scenario: They will become low security prisons/manufacturing factories.
    Or Company Housing to go along with the Company Store where you will always be short 1 Company Buck to buy that half loaf of day old white bread…same thing, really.

  • CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    They will stop pretending they’re data centers and we will start calling them what they really are, surveillance centers