Tech is a major wedge issue that is going to be on the ballot this November. Opinions on whether to embrace new technology are not just dividing the broad right wing coalition, but the country as a whole. I’m not going to opine on whether or not this anti-tech sentiment is organic or being pushed from top down. That said, I want to add some thoughts as to how the right can make tech a winning issue, which many currently are botching.
First, I’ll address Flock cameras, but only briefly. I’m ambivalent on the subject, not because I have strong opinions on the technology itself, but out of purely political calculations. I support my friends having this technology at their disposal, not my enemies.
That said, I think Flock cameras are generally a topic that the right shouldn’t waste a lot of energy on. People who oppose the technology have perfectly rational reasons for doing so. When discussing data centers, I do not believe that Flock cameras should be included in the same discussion, as they are not effectively related topics, and trigger the normal human urge for privacy and against surveillance.
When speaking about data centers however, this is something that the right should support, while also demanding that tech companies be good neighbors.
Data center construction is highly unpopular right now. Again, with the information most readily available to the average rural normie, it’s not hard to understand why there is skepticism.
It is imperative that tech companies and pro-data center politicians do a better job explaining and educating the public, but even more important is giving people a stake in what tech is doing. Some voices on the right have been getting louder, and it seems that some companies are listening.
At the very least, companies looking to build data centers should follow similar models to oil and gas companies who have been building well pads and pipelines throughout rural America. Much of my job has been spent in natural gas rich areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, so I have some perspective on what happens when a new industry is brought into a rural area.
While many people reflexively oppose any sort of development near their homes, and some people have a particular aversion to drilling and fracking, energy companies are able to manage public opinion by paying out royalties, sponsoring local schools, festivals, sports teams, and so forth. In addition to those common sense measures, most of the people I come across who work at these sites, whether they are roughnecks, pipeliners, mechanics, or environmental compliance professionals, are largely local to these areas. Areas that were dead, dying, or stagnant got a shot in the arm. Presumably, running a data center will require a lot of blue collar workers in addition to higher skilled tech workers.
President Trump and other pro-data center politicians have been urging the public that data centers are important because America needs to outcompete China and other global powers in the development of AI. That may be true, but in today’s economy, fewer and fewer people care about abstract goals if it doesn’t help them directly. Appealing to national success makes for a less convincing argument nowadays.
These politicians also need to pressure tech companies to hire locally, or at least hire Americans. One of the rebuttals you’ll hear from anti-data center rightists is that the myriad new jobs that come with data center construction will go to foreigners. As has often happened in the tech sector, this is a reasonable concern.
Trump and Republicans need to realize that ruralites are their main voting base, and they need to reward them and give them a reason to come out to the polls. Not doing so would be a disastrous missed opportunity. Ultimately, it seems that making a logical appeal to voters about tech is a losing strategy. People need real incentives. Tech companies can and should pony up.
