but why all of a sudden do they need SO MANY DATA CENTERS
because the demands of the few outweigh the desires of the many.
It is probably because the potential is so gargantuan and the technology exists now.
The → dotcom ← bust all over again.
Steven Kwast | The Urgent Need for a U.S. Space Force
Then go look at what Musk has been saying in regards to Starlink, Gigasat, and Terafab. Those may start beying deployed as early as 2028.
The short answer is that we are on the verge of a leap in technology at least as big as gun powder and internal combustion engines, likely bigger than both combined. Consider how nukes changed the world and what their effect was on geopolitics.
These things Kwast is talking about and the things Musk is presently working on will change the world for every person on the earth and the references I made above are just the starting point. Either we will be ahead and effectively in charge of this power or China will.
When Musks data center satellites and energy systems come start coming on line the ground based ones will become by comparison too expensive to maintain and become obsolete. The hysteria is pointless and wrong headed. The biggest concern should be "How are these areas going to get cleaned up when they file for bankruptcy? "
And why is China paying activists to fight them?
tlerweave wrote: “but why all of a sudden do they need SO MANY DATA CENTERS”
Please explain how many data centers are needed.
Who is they? The millions using google navigation in real time in any given moment?
To support the growth of AI usage as more and more businesses and people find ways to use it.
Remember when everybody needed and wanted computers with faster drives and more memory? And phones with better cameras and more memory?
It is the nature of technology.
Luddites are trying to shout back the ocean. Waves of change are coming.
Because the need for DATA STORAGE increases exponentially every day.