Data centers gobble vast capital, land, water and energy while forcing locals to endure ‘heat islands.’ Who voted for this? By Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee “While technological successes are celebrated, the social fabric is progressively eroded, as if by a silent virus.” — Pope Leo XIV The artificial intelligence industry likes to refer to its massive “hyperscale” data centres as “campuses.” That’s complete bullshit. A data centre hosts no students, no laughter and no libraries.