If we look at not only the energy requirements, but the whole lifecycle of the data centre, including the embodied carbon in their construction and the manufacturing of components, the situation worsens. For the whole world, Morgan Stanley predict that data centre CO2-equivalent emissions will triple by 2030, rising to equivalent of 40% of the US’ total emissions, once account is taken not only of electricity use but also data centre construction. This rapid increase is, they estimate, about three times worse than it would have been without the arrival of AI. Only approximately 60% of the total emissions are due to the operational power requirement, the rest being embodied carbon in the manufacturing and construction of the centres.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64871f9937497e658cf744f5/t/682e0081bd6dc64bb45fcb1d/1747845250339/Data+centres-+how+soaring+demand+threatens+to+overwhelm+energy+systems+and+climate+goals.pdf
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64871f9937497e658cf744f5/t/682e0081bd6dc64bb45fcb1d/1747845250339/Data+centres-+how+soaring+demand+threatens+to+overwhelm+energy+systems+and+climate+goals.pdf
For example, after October 7, the army authorized soldiers to kill up to 20 civilians in order to assassinate a suspected low-level Hamas operative, or hundreds of civilians when targeting more senior figures. The vast majority of these assassinations occurred in civilian homes where no military activity was taking place. But for most of the soldiers I spoke to, the mere existence of an alleged military target, even in cases where the intelligence picture was murky, justified virtually any resultant death toll.
In another investigation, a soldier described to me how his battalion used remote-controlled drones to fire on Palestinian civilians, including women and children, as they tried to return to their destroyed homes in an area occupied by the Israeli army, killing 100 unarmed Palestinians over the course of three months. The goal, he explained, was not to kill them for the sake of it, but to keep the neighborhood empty and thus safer for the soldiers stationed there.
Another soldier recounted participating in the shelling of an entire residential block, comprising more than 10 multi-story apartment buildings and one high-rise all packed with families. She knew beforehand that in doing so she and her crew would likely kill some 300 civilians. But the operation, she explained, was based on intelligence suggesting that a relatively senior Hamas commander might be hiding somewhere beneath one of these buildings. Without more precise information, they destroyed the entire area in the hope of killing him.
The soldier conceded that the attack amounted to a massacre. But in her view, this was not the intention; the goal was to hit the commander, who may not have even been there.
This mission-oriented framing played a crucial role in enabling ordinary Israelis to participate in genocide — perhaps more than obedience alone, which is usually assumed to be the primary motivator in such contexts. By understanding each act of violence as a discrete task, from targeting a Hamas operative to securing a perimeter, soldiers could avoid confronting their role in the mass slaughter of civilians.
[...]
The tendency of perpetrators of genocide to invoke “security” as a justification for mass violence is well documented, rationalizing acts of brutality within a broader framework of self-defense. But whatever flimsy excuse is given in each case, Israel’s attacks were undeniably carried out in the full knowledge that they would lead to the destruction of another people. The result is a Palestinian death toll that is thought to exceed 100,000, and the near-total obliteration of the Gaza Strip.
https://www.972mag.com/israelis-logic-gaza-genocide/
In another investigation, a soldier described to me how his battalion used remote-controlled drones to fire on Palestinian civilians, including women and children, as they tried to return to their destroyed homes in an area occupied by the Israeli army, killing 100 unarmed Palestinians over the course of three months. The goal, he explained, was not to kill them for the sake of it, but to keep the neighborhood empty and thus safer for the soldiers stationed there.
Another soldier recounted participating in the shelling of an entire residential block, comprising more than 10 multi-story apartment buildings and one high-rise all packed with families. She knew beforehand that in doing so she and her crew would likely kill some 300 civilians. But the operation, she explained, was based on intelligence suggesting that a relatively senior Hamas commander might be hiding somewhere beneath one of these buildings. Without more precise information, they destroyed the entire area in the hope of killing him.
The soldier conceded that the attack amounted to a massacre. But in her view, this was not the intention; the goal was to hit the commander, who may not have even been there.
This mission-oriented framing played a crucial role in enabling ordinary Israelis to participate in genocide — perhaps more than obedience alone, which is usually assumed to be the primary motivator in such contexts. By understanding each act of violence as a discrete task, from targeting a Hamas operative to securing a perimeter, soldiers could avoid confronting their role in the mass slaughter of civilians.
[...]
The tendency of perpetrators of genocide to invoke “security” as a justification for mass violence is well documented, rationalizing acts of brutality within a broader framework of self-defense. But whatever flimsy excuse is given in each case, Israel’s attacks were undeniably carried out in the full knowledge that they would lead to the destruction of another people. The result is a Palestinian death toll that is thought to exceed 100,000, and the near-total obliteration of the Gaza Strip.
https://www.972mag.com/israelis-logic-gaza-genocide/
+972 Magazine
One target at a time: The logic that helped Israeli liberals commit genocide
By attaching a military goal to each act of killing, Israelis of all stripes could partake in the slaughter without questioning the morality of their actions.
SWD_2022_147_F1_STAFF_WORKING_PAPER_EN_V2_P14_1979809_ejlHFfUCm.pdf
6 MB
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT- A Chips Act for Europe
https://www.techpolicy.press/why-europes-resistance-to-big-tech-matters-for-the-future-of-democracy/
Tech Policy Press
Why Europe’s Resistance to Big Tech Matters for the Future of Democracy | TechPolicy.Press
We are witnessing the fusion of corporate and state power take institutional form, writes Courtney C. Radsch.
Pantopia Reading Nook 📰🚩 pinned «https://academic.oup.com/ser/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ser/mwaf032/8163006»
"Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day.
But the company only bans advertisers if its automated systems predict the marketers are at least 95% certain to be committing fraud, the documents show. If the company is less certain – but still believes the advertiser is a likely scammer – Meta charges higher ad rates as a penalty, according to the documents. The idea is to dissuade suspect advertisers from placing ads."
Genuinely Meta has to be one of the most disgusting policies on the planet
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/meta-is-earning-fortune-deluge-fraudulent-ads-documents-show-2025-11-06/
But the company only bans advertisers if its automated systems predict the marketers are at least 95% certain to be committing fraud, the documents show. If the company is less certain – but still believes the advertiser is a likely scammer – Meta charges higher ad rates as a penalty, according to the documents. The idea is to dissuade suspect advertisers from placing ads."
Genuinely Meta has to be one of the most disgusting policies on the planet
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/meta-is-earning-fortune-deluge-fraudulent-ads-documents-show-2025-11-06/