The middle distribution of Gen Z’s feelings about AI range from apprehension to downright hatred. Despite the fact that more than half of Gen Z living in the U.S. uses AI regularly, according to a recently released Gallup poll, less than a fifth feel hopeful about the technology. About a third says the technology makes them angry. And nearly half say it makes them afraid.

Gallup’s own senior education researcher, Zach Hrynowski, blamed the bad vibes at least partially on the dwindling job market. The oldest Zoomers, he told Axios, are the angriest, as they are “acutely aware” of the ability of a technology to transform cultural norms without a second thought, unlike a Gen Xer who is trained to see new technology as toys and are still “playing around with AI.”

Indeed, job prospects for the recently graduated Gen Z are abysmal; Bloomberg just reported that 43% of young graduates are “underemployed,” meaning taking on jobs that require less education than they have.

[…]

This is not just a Gen Z problem, either. In the American heartland, data centers are being proposed at a pace that local communities never anticipated and for which they were never asked permission, and they’re increasingly pushing back.

The numbers are serious. According to a report from 10a Labs’ Data Center Watch, at least $18 billion worth of data center projects have been blocked and another $46 billion delayed over the past two years owing to local opposition. At least 142 activist groups across 24 states are now actively organizing to block data center construction and expansion. A Heatmap Pro review of public records found that 25 data center projects were canceled following local pushback in 2025 alone, four times as many as in 2024, with 21 of those cancellations occurring in the second half of the year as electricity costs grew.

The concerns driving this resistance are less about existential AI risk and more about typical kitchen-table complaints; communities consistently cite higher utility bills, water consumption, noise, impacts on property values, and green space destruction as their primary objections. Water use is mentioned as a top concern in more than 40% of contested projects, according to a Heatmap Pro review of public records.

  • goodboyjojo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    6 days ago

    One of the main complaints I hear about ai is the factor in how it affects the environment. We need tech that has a way smaller footprint

  • 1984@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    7 days ago

    You get “attempted murder” in America for setting a wall on fire and smashing glass?

    In France, thats a Tuesday.

    • BillCheddar@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      You can get charged with assault on a police officer if a cop slips and falls while trying to assault you.

    • barnacul@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      In the US you get charged with a bunch of bullshit as an intimidation tactic (or often for propaganda reasons). In court it gets haggled down to the actual charges. No penalty for prosecutors doing this.

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        7 days ago

        The assailant used chemical weapons in attempt to escape ICE.

        Dude: I forgot to take my lactase and ate too much dairy for lunch and farted in his face while they were illegally arresting me.

        • 1984@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 days ago

          I never knew this was a thing and it sounds very dystopian. Its almost as if these systems wants people to get as angry and frustrated as possible so they can lock them away.

    • Texas_Hangover@lemmy.radio
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      Our prosecutors like to throw a bunch of heinous charges and see what sticks. Its how they get people to agree with plea bargains.

  • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    I’m an Gen-Xennial or whatever and I hate AI because it’s ruining my ability to solve problems m with search results on the internet. I get imaginary results in the AI panels when I’m incognito and don’t have it disabled, and DDG has been completely fucked by Slop Spam websites in their results.

    Then there are low price eshop clones that copy legit products at half price. The sites usually have a name so close that when checking trustpilot type places, they’ll “autocorrect” your search to the legit site that was cloned.

    It’s finishing off the already largely ruined internet.

    • frostysauce@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      I use the custom search range on DDG. I just leave the date the same and set the years to 2000-2020. Before AI slop was most of the internet.

      • keimevo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        7 days ago

        That doesn’t solve the problem: it only disables the duck.ai assistant, but doesn’t disable the search results that are normal websites generated with AI (the real issue here). To be fair, that’s not DDG problem specifically but every search engine problem.

        The web is now full of these fake websites, which is a real problem because on the search results they look legit and only when visiting them you realize it’s AI crap.

        And the funny (or sad) thing is that current AIs are being trained on these fake hallucinating sites, so even they are suffering from false information, which in turn is given to humans and used to make more fake websites and… the result is up to your imagination.

  • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    I don’t understand why they just don’t charge AI data centers higher costs for electricity, so they are a net benefit to the area.

    • Kissaki@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      7 days ago

      Energy money doesn’t offset water consumption or other environmental effects.

      • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        7 days ago

        I don’t think we are going to stop AI. Better to put guardrails in place regarding energy and resource use and ensure the revenue generated results in a net gain for the area. If it doesn’t, then look for another area.

          • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            7 days ago

            As long as they are providing a net benefit to the area, why be against them? Even building them would create hundreds if not thousands of jobs.

            • bthest@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              edit-2
              7 days ago

              What fucking jobs? What fucking net benefit? Whose asshole are you licking by posting this shit?

              I like how you fucks always soft-shill while testing the waters by being kinda anti-AI before straight up posting tech bro propaganda. AI ain’t teaching you guys any people skills I can tell you that much.

              • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                7 days ago

                Settle down Charlotte. The jobs to actually build the data center. It doesn’t build itself.

                Why do you have to talk like that? Why not address the position instead? Do you think being profane makes you look more intelligent?

                I think maybe you aren’t debating in good faith, you just want to shake your fist at the clouds. Which is an option, go for it.

  • Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 days ago

    The numbers are serious. According to a report from 10a Labs’ Data Center Watch, at least $18 billion worth of data center projects have been blocked and another $46 billion delayed over the past two years owing to local opposition.

    Oh, the poor, poor money! Can’t nobody pleeeease help the capital?

    LMAO