The pushback grows: exemptions, data center fights, and failed summaries
Follow-up to Friday Oct 23: The public pushes back: bad for society, and banned in SwedenLast Friday we saw a poll: most Americans think AI is bad for society. This week, the pushback takes new forms. A Kentucky man became the first humanist granted a religious exemption from using AI. The story got 463 points and 504 comments on Hacker News.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri admits many people really do not like AI, and says the negativity is 'going to get worse'. In Texas, voters fight data center projects, including one on land meant for a park. In Mississippi, a subsidiary of xAI is reportedly offering to buy homes, but only if residents do not join a lawsuit over its data center and power plant.
Trust takes hits too. A post says the UK used AI to summarize asylum interviews, and one in five checked summaries failed. New York Governor Hochul signed rules on AI chatbots and baby monitors.
When people must ask religion for a way out of AI at work, something is wrong with how it is rolled out. Companies that ignore this anger will pay for it later.
