Data Centers Are ALREADY OBSOLETE & Here's Why! w/ Hakeem Anwar

Hyperscale AI data centers are consuming an unprecedented amount of power and water. Currently, 384 such centers use 10% of the total U.S. power demand. With another 300 planned, AI power usage is projected to quadruple, reaching 40% of the U.S. power supply. These centers require vast quantities of water for cooling due to the extreme heat generated by AI chips, which can reach temperatures comparable to the sun's surface.

Hakeem Anwar states that 384 hyperscalers use about 10% of total US power demand and that another 300 data centers are planned, which will quadruple AI power use to 40% of the US power supply. He explains that AI chips like the Nvidia Blackwell have 200 billion transistors and perform trillions of calculations per second, generating heat comparable to the surface of the sun, necessitating water cooling systems that evaporate water through cooling towers.

Despite the massive investment in AI data centers, new technologies are emerging that allow powerful AI processing on local devices, rendering large-scale data centers largely obsolete for many applications. Devices like Nvidia's Jetson Orin Nano can perform 70 trillion AI operations per second locally for minimal electricity cost, replacing expensive cloud subscriptions and eliminating the need for data to leave a user's home.

Hakeem Anwar highlights the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano, a $249 device that runs at 25 watts, performs 70 trillion AI operations per second, and can run large language models locally, costing only $2 a month in electricity compared to $200 a month for cloud services. He states, 'what you're seeing right now is why data centers are largely obsolete and we're not going to need them anymore.'

The continued, massive investment in AI data centers, despite their potential obsolescence and environmental impact, suggests underlying motives beyond technological necessity. Theories include corporate incompetence and greed, a perceived 'AI cyber war' with nations like China, programmable economic warfare through control over power and water resources, and the establishment of a pervasive surveillance state capable of real-time monitoring.

Anwar presents four theories: (1) incompetence/greed, citing China's 80% empty data centers; (2) AI cyber war, with figures like Kevin O'Leary and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology posturing against China; (3) programmable economic warfare, where data centers can 'programmably' pull power and water during heatwaves, causing outages and increasing utility profits; and (4) the surveillance state, enabling monitoring of internet traffic and millions of cameras.

To counter the data harvesting and surveillance facilitated by big tech, privacy-first devices and open-source software offer a path to digital independence. Products like the Above Phone and Above Book Quantum series are designed to cut off tracking layers, avoid embedded AI that hoovers user data, and provide alternatives to mainstream apps without third-party trackers or ads.

Anwar describes the Above Phone as a 'de-Googled' phone that removes reliance on Google and Apple services, uses alternative open-source apps without third-party trackers, and offers encrypted messaging and private search. He states these devices 'cut them off from their data, there's really no point to having a data center.' He also demonstrates a laptop running an AI model locally, not connected to the internet.