Someone brought a guillotine to a city council meeting in Salem, Oregon on July 27, 2026. Not a sign shaped like one. Not a drawing. According to community accounts and social media posts, an actual guillotine structure appeared at the protest outside Loucks Auditorium, where hundreds of residents had gathered to oppose a proposed multi-billion-dollar AI data center. Company representatives reportedly assessed the scene and left, citing safety concerns — though that detail hasn’t appeared in formal news coverage or official minutes.
Whoa. I still have to admit that I’m not quite clear on just why AI data centers are what has galvanized resistance so much.
Of all things, why those, I wonder?
It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It’s a bipartisan issue. The Left likes having clean air, clean water, and a safe environment for wildlife. The Right likes lower energy prices and hates government surveillance. There’s also a lot of crossover in those concerns to different degrees. In some cases, local officials appear to be signing NDAs, accepting bribes, and other corrupt hijinks that benefit themselves over their constituencies. Corporations and billionaires will make billions at a tax discount or tax free on the backs of local taxpayers. There’s really a lot to hate about building more of them.
It’s the whole package. It’s the unsightly huge buildings, the taking of jobs, the AI slop, the environmental destruction, the electricity cost increase, the noise, the pollution. There are few good things AI does, and none of them offset the negatives.