Tag Archives: Surrounds

Balancing Faith and Fear: Speculation Surrounds the $3 Trillion Global Data Center Surge

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Global investments in artificial intelligence are yielding remarkable figures, with approximately $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion) allocated to data centers.

These immense facilities serve as the backbone for AI applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Veo 3, driving the training and functioning of technologies that have attracted billions from investors.

Although there are worries that the AI boom might lead to a bubble poised to burst, indicators of such a downturn are currently absent. Recently, Nvidia, a Silicon Valley AI chip manufacturer, became the first company to reach a valuation of $5 trillion, while Microsoft and Apple each hit a $4 trillion valuation for the first time, marking a historic moment. OpenAI’s restructuring now appraises it at $500 billion, with Microsoft’s investment exceeding $100 billion. Projections suggest a potential $1 trillion surge as early as next year.

Moreover, Google’s parent company Alphabet announced $100 billion in revenue for a single quarter, driven by an increasing demand for AI infrastructure. Apple and Amazon also recently reported robust results.

Trust in AI extends beyond the financial sector; local communities housing the AI infrastructure are equally invested.

In the 19th century, the demand for coal and steel determined Newport’s trajectory. Today, Welsh towns are looking forward to a fresh era of growth generated by the latest global economic transformation.

At the site of a former radiator factory on the outskirts of Newport, Microsoft is constructing a data center to cater to the tech industry’s increasing demand for AI.

Microsoft is constructing a data center at Imperial Park near Newport, Wales. Photo: Dimitris Regakis/Athena Pictures

While standing on the concrete floor where thousands of buzzing servers will soon be installed, Dimitri Batrouni, the Labour leader of Newport City Council, remarked that the Imperial Park data center represents an opportunity to delve into the economy of the future.

“In a city like mine, what should we do? Should we dwell on the past in hopes of reviving the steel industry and bringing back 10,000 jobs? That’s not feasible. Or should we embrace the future?” he stated.

Yet, despite the current optimistic outlook regarding AI, uncertainties linger concerning the sustainability of spending in the tech sector.

The top four players in the AI industry (Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft) are ramping up their AI spending. Over the upcoming two years, they are expected to invest more than $750 billion in AI-related capital expenditures, covering not just data centers and staff, but also the chips and servers they contain.

This expenditure is highlighted by the American investment firm Manning & Napier, which describes it as “nothing too remarkable.” The Newport facility alone could demand hundreds of millions of dollars. Recently, Equinix, based in California, announced intentions to invest £4 billion in a central hub in Hertfordshire.

Joe Tsai, chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, cautioned in March that the data center market was beginning to exhibit signs of oversupply. “We’re starting to observe the early stages of a potential bubble,” he commented, referencing projects that finance constructions without securing commitments from prospective clients.

There are already 11,000 data centers globally, representing a 500% increase over the past two decades, and more are on the horizon. The means of funding this expansion raises concerns.

Analysts from Morgan Stanley predict that worldwide spending on data centers will approach $3 trillion by 2028, with $1.4 trillion of that anticipated from cash flow generated by large US tech firms known as “hyperscalers.”

Consequently, $1.5 trillion will need to be sourced from alternative means, such as private credit, which has been increasingly scrutinized by institutions like the Bank of England. Morgan Stanley estimates that private credit could cover more than half of the funding shortfall. Meta Inc. utilized private credit markets to raise $29 billion for an expansion of a data center in Louisiana.

Gil Luria, the head of technology research at DA Davidson, described investments in hyperscalers as a “healthy” aspect of the current boom, while labeling the remainder as “speculative assets devoid of customers.”

He noted that the debt being utilized could lead to repercussions extending beyond the tech sector if the situation deteriorates.

“Providers of this debt are so eager to invest in AI that they may not have adequately assessed the risks associated with a new and unproven category reliant on assets that depreciate quickly,” he indicated.

“We are in the initial phase of this influx of debt capital, but if it escalates to hundreds of billions of dollars, it could ultimately present structural risks to the global economy.”

Hedge fund founder Harris Kupperman noted in an August blog that data centers: depreciate at twice the rate of revenue generation.

The $500 billion Stargate project in Abilene, Texas, involves a collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. Photo: Daniel Cole/Reuters

Supporting this expenditure are heightened revenue forecasts from Morgan Stanley, which estimates that income generated from AI innovations such as chatbots, AI agents, and image generators could grow to $1 trillion by 2028 from $45 billion last year. To substantiate these revenue projections, tech firms are counting on enterprises, the public sector, and individual users to generate sufficient demand for AI and fund it.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a landmark product of the AI wave, currently boasts 800 million weekly active users. This statistic is a boon for optimists. However, concerns have arisen regarding user acquisition. For instance, investor confidence in the AI surge took a hit in August when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study indicating that 95% of organizations reported zero return on investment from generative AI projects.

According to the Uptime Institute, which inspects and evaluates data centers, many projects go unconstructed, suggesting that some are part of a hype cycle and fail to materialize.

“It is crucial to understand that much of this is speculative,” stated Andy Lawrence, the Uptime Institute’s executive director of research. “Frequently, many data centers announced with great excitement are either never built or are only partially constructed and developed progressively over a ten-year span.”

He further added that numerous data centers unveiled as part of this multitrillion-dollar initiative “will be specifically designed for or primarily intended to support AI workloads.”

Microsoft has pointed out that its Newport data center will not solely serve AI. Data centers form the core for AI systems like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot but also cater to everyday IT tasks many take for granted (like managing email traffic, storing company files, and supporting Zoom calls) as providers of “cloud” services, where companies lease servers rather than purchasing them outright.

“The infrastructure has multiple applications, making it highly versatile,” explained Alistair Speirs, general manager of Microsoft’s cloud operations.

However, various large-scale projects are completely committing to AI. The US Stargate initiative is a $500 billion partnership among OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, with plans to establish a network of AI data centers throughout the U.S. A British counterpart will also be set up in North Tyneside, in the northeast of England. Microsoft is constructing the most powerful AI data center in Fairview, Wisconsin, and is backing a dedicated AI site in Laughton, Essex, while Elon Musk’s xAI is developing a colossal project in Memphis, Tennessee.


Construction of an estimated 10GW of new data center capacity worldwide—equivalent to around a third of the UK’s electricity demand—is expected to commence this year, as reported by the property group JLL. However, this represents total maximum capacity, as data centers generally operate around 60% of their capacity.

JLL projects another 7GW will be completed this year.

The growth rate is swift, with current global data center capacity standing at 59GW, and Goldman Sachs forecasting capacity will double by the end of 2030. This expansion will elevate the costs related to the infrastructure, necessitating $720 billion in grid investments to satisfy that energy demand, according to Goldman.

Mike O’Connell, a construction safety specialist from Newport, has returned as a consultant at the Newport facility. With a career spanning oil rigs, offshore wind farms, and data centers globally, he returned to his hometown, now a tech hub filled with data centers and semiconductor firms.

“My aim is to remain within my local community,” he stated. Mr. O’Connell’s teenage grandson is embarking on his career at the Newport site as an electrical apprentice. There is optimism that such a data center will offer generational employment opportunities for the area.

Investors and tech giants are committing trillions of dollars in investments with hopes for long-term returns.

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Online Misinformation Surrounds La Ice Protest: ‘Fuel for Right-Wing Agitators'”

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Since the uproar surrounding the immigration attacks in Los Angeles began, a wave of inaccurate and misleading claims about ongoing protests has proliferated across text-based social networks. As Donald Trump significantly ramped up federal involvement, falsehoods shared on social media intertwined with misinformation propagated through channels established by the White House. This blend of genuine and deceptive information creates a distorted representation of a city that strays from the truth.

Various regions in Los Angeles have experienced substantial protests over the last four days in response to intensified immigration policies from the US presidential administration. Dramatic images circulated on Saturday from downtown Los Angeles depicted a car ablaze amid clashes with law enforcement. Many posts fostered the impression that chaos and violence engulfed the entirety of Los Angeles, despite the fact that disturbances remained limited to specific areas within the sprawling city. Trump sent 2,000 National Guard troops to the city without the consent of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has prompted the state to sue over this alleged infringement of sovereignty. Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses has ordered approximately 700 Marines to be deployed to the city.


As misinformation proliferates amid both street-level and legal confrontations, the intersection of lies and conflict is evident. Social media often acts as a catalyst for the spread of falsehoods, a trend noted during recent wildfires in Los Angeles, catastrophic hurricanes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the most egregious disinformation is the circulation of a video featuring Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum by conservative Russian accounts, leading into the protests and inciting the demonstrations showcased on the Mexican flag, as reported by the misinformed Watchdog News Guard. These misleading posts — crafted by Benny Johnson on Twitter/X, referencing pro-Trump outlets like wltreport.com and Russian state media RG.RU — garnered millions of views, according to the organization. On June 9th, Sheinbaum stated to reporters:

Posts about bricks stir up a mixture of real and fake news

Conspiracy-minded conservatives are quick to latch onto familiar tropes. A post on X claimed that the “Soros Funding Organization” had garnered over 9,500 retweets regarding brick pallets near Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, racking up more than 800,000 views. George Soros remains a recurring figure in right-wing conspiracy narratives, with the post similarly implicating LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom in the supposed shortage of supplies.

I encountered a post that read, “It’s a civil war!!!”

The images of stacked bricks originate from a Malaysian construction supplier, and the myth that these bricks were distributed to protesters dates back to the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Users on X shared insights regarding the “Community Notes,” while X’s built-in AI chatbot Grok also provided fact-checks in response to inquiries about the authenticity of the post.


In response to the hoax imagery, some X users shared a link to Real footage showing protesters slamming concrete bollards, intertwining truths and falsehoods, and obscuring the reality of the situation. Independent journalists who showcased the footage claimed it depicted projectiles hurled at police, although the footage revealed no such actions.

The Social Media Lab, a research group at Toronto Metropolitan University, was referenced in Blueski.

Trump and the White House are covered in mud

Trump himself fueled narratives suggesting that the protests were orchestrated and dominated by external agitators lacking genuine concern for local issues.

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“These individuals are not protesters; they are troublemakers and anarchists,” Trump asserted on Truth Social, later screenshot and shared by Elon Musk on X. Others within the administration echoed similar sentiments on social media.

Los Angeles Times reporter noted that the White House claimed certain Mexican citizens had been arrested for assaulting an officer “during the riot.” However, it was established that customs and border protection agents had detained him prior to the protest’s commencement.

Sowing misleading information and fostering distrust

Trump has escalated the frequency of ICE raids nationwide, amplifying deportation fears throughout Los Angeles. Anti-ICE posts are also circulating misinformation, according to the Social Media Lab. One concerning post on Blueski, labeled “breaking,” alleged that a federal agent had just arrived at an LA elementary school seeking to interrogate first graders, when in reality, the incident occurred two months prior. Researchers have identified such posts as “Rage-Farming to Push Merch.”


The conspiracy platform Infowars has initiated a broadcast on X titled “Live Watch: LA ICE Riots Spread Across Major Cities Nationwide.” While protests against deportation have emerged in various locations, the level of confusion observed in Los Angeles is unmatched. The broadcast attracted 13,000 viewers simultaneously as X, a Los Angeles news service, aired coverage four nights after the immigration protest.

The spread of erroneous reporting undermines X’s credibility as a news platform, yet it continues to promote itself as the leading news application in the US, or more recently, in Qatar. Older images and videos are combined with new to instill doubts about legitimate news. After taking over Twitter in late 2022, Musk has endorsed user-generated fact-checking via the “Community Notes” feature, but has dismantled numerous internal avenues designed to counter misinformation. Particularly with the 2024 US presidential election approaching, researchers indicate that Musk himself has become a significant facilitator of misinformation, posting and resharing misleading claims that garnered around 2 billion views on numerous occasions. The Center for Countering Digital Hate.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Controversy Surrounds Hit Game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ Over Comments on ‘Feminist Propaganda’

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Controversy surrounds the popular new Chinese game, Black Myth: Wukong, as gaming influencers were instructed not to address news, politics, the coronavirus, or “feminist propaganda” when discussing the game publicly.

Released last week, the game is China’s first “triple-A” rated game, based on the renowned 16th-century Chinese novel “Journey to the West.”

Developers reported selling more than 10 million copies globally in three days.Game Science.

However, controversy arose over guidelines given to influencers and content creators, instructing them on specific topics to avoid while live streaming the game.

Don’t insult others or use offensive language.
Avoid politics, violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, and other negative content.
Stay away from trigger words like “quarantine,” “isolation,” or “Covid-19.”
Refrain from discussing China’s gaming industry policies and news.

The avoidance of “feminist propaganda” raised eyebrows, especially with reports of alleged sexist behavior by Game Science employees.

Game Science and co-publisher Hero Games, reported issuers of the guidelines, have been contacted for comment.

Online fans have engaged in heated discussions regarding the guidelines, linking them to prior reports of sexism within the gaming industry.

The directive, not extended to traditional publications or peer reviewers, is legally unenforceable and has sparked mockery and backlash in the gaming community.

The game’s global success has been notable, with over three million concurrent players in its first week, including two million on Steam.

Chinese authorities and media have praised the game for promoting Chinese culture and countering prejudice.

Recent reports refute Western media’s criticisms, accusing them of politicizing China’s gaming achievements to attack the country.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Controversy Surrounds Identification of Tiny Tyrannosaur Fossil as Potentially Another Species

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Illustration of Nanotyrannus fighting a young Tyrannosaurus Rex

raul martin

tyrannosaurus rex After all, it may not have been the only large carnivore that ruled North America during the Late Cretaceous. Reinterpretation of some fossils of small dinosaurs sometimes classified as young dinosaurs tyrannosaurus This adds weight to the controversial idea that it is a separate small species called . Nanotyrannus lansensislived with the dinosaur king.

“This is the most famous fossil animal in the world,” he says Nicholas Longrich At the University of Bath, UK. “A lot of people are watching. And we can't agree.”

This debate has divided paleontologists for decades. A paper from the 1960s revealed that a skull excavated 20 years earlier in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana was tyrannosaurus that died before reaching full maturity. However, in the 1980s, others argued that the differences between the skull and known skulls were: tyrannosaurus The specimen showed that this fossil was actually an adult of another species, and they named it Nanotyrannus lansensis.

Recent studies based on additional fossils dispute this, arguing that the differences between miniature and full-sized fossils are: tyrannosaurus The fossils were not of different species, but of different times. This discussion has implications for understanding the ecology and diversity of dinosaurs in the period just before their extinction.

Now, with Longrich Evan Saitta Researchers at the University of Chicago have compiled six pieces of evidence that support identifying the smaller fossils as: Nanotyrannus. This includes cataloging more than 150 individual features that differ between the fossil in question and the known fossils. tyrannosaurus Fossils include things like a narrower snout and smoother teeth. They argue that all this cannot change between boys and adults. tyrannosaurus.

The researchers also analyzed the patterns of bone growth rings, which form when bones stop growing each year. As the animal grows slower, the distance between the growth rings decreases. Researchers say they found these rings to be tightened, suggesting that the smaller fossils represent young adults. Nanotyrannus Rather than a boy tyrannosaurus They rate these adults Nanotyrannus Their weight would be between 1,000 kg and 2,000 kg, equivalent to a quarter of an adult. tyrannosaurus 8000 kg. “No matter how you graph the data, you can’t turn it into an animal. tyrannosaurus” Longrich says.

The latest evidence is a fossilized frontal bone (located between the eye and skull) that Longrich unearthed from the archives of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, which researchers interpret as a juvenile fossil. tyrannosaurus Because it is definitely different from the hypothesis, Nanotyrannus fossil. “It's an animal smaller than a human.” Nanotyrannus But it is tyrannosaurus Morphology,” Longrich says.

Some outside researchers say they remain unsure that the tiny fossil is actually a separate species. “No problem Nanotyrannus If science proves it, it’s real.” holly woodward At Oklahoma State University written Juvenile species were identified in a tree ring survey conducted in 2020. tyrannosaurus explanation. “We’re not convinced that their interpretation is any more accurate than ours,” she said, adding that the fully grown animal specimens were “unusual.” Nanotyrannus It will be necessary to resolve different interpretations.

thomas carr A professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin has long argued that the fossil is a juvenile. tyrannosaurus, adding that the front bone found at Berkeley was too incomplete to sway him. “I don’t take this seriously at all,” he says.

scott parsons Professors at the College of Charleston in South Carolina are more welcoming of what he says is a new perspective on a long-stalled rift among paleontologists. “This new paper doesn’t settle this debate, but I’m optimistic that it will be a game-changer,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com