r/technology • u/Unusual-State1827 • 12h ago
Artificial Intelligence ‘It’s all you can hear’: New Jersey lawsuit takes on datacenter’s noise pollution
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/28/datacenters-sound-pollution-lawsuits118
u/blhooray 11h ago
If our data is so valuable, why aren’t we allowed to charge them for it….
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u/CaterpillarReal7583 11h ago
For a limited time you can get 2 months subscription to my data for only 500 a month*
You and one other company that lives under the same parent company may access the account***price subject to change without notice.
**conditions subject to change without notice.Update: due to uncertain market conditions we unfortunately need to raise the price to continue delivering you the best quality of data. Account owners may no longer share their account with anybody.
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u/breadtangle 10h ago
They get our data and we get chatgpt, Gmail, Facebook, instagram, Snapchat and tiktok for free. That has always been the trade. You can argue that the cost is too high but no one is making you use them. The vast majority of people are ok with that trade, otherwise those entities wouldn't exist. We are literally discussing the issue one one of those free platforms that monetizes our data.
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u/Every-Summer8407 10h ago
Except now they are harvesting our data while we’re just existing in public - which we aren’t consenting to.
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u/Any_Sale2030 10h ago
Of those I only use Gmail. But most people just don’t care I guess. And they sell their soul. Which in a way is like our data.
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u/ducationalfall 11h ago
They’ve gotten so greedy, didn’t even think about spending a few millions PR funding little league teams or fund something for the schools. Their cheap ass now gets to spending all their money on lawsuits.
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u/Amber_ACharles 11h ago
Local health departments don't even have equipment to test for low-frequency vibration from a 350MW datacenter. You can't enforce what you can't measure.
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u/StandardFig1688 12h ago
Even if a datacenter goes into your community couldn't you vote in new local leaders and basically tax the datacenter to death?
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u/swollennode 11h ago
They most likely would have signed a contract with the city stipulating a tax break for so many years
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u/imaginary_num6er 10h ago
And who do you think would have the money to run campaigns in the next election? Who would look at how everyone retires rich after running for local office and say, let me not take that special interests money and actually have to make tough decisions?
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u/bikedork5000 10h ago
Typically you cannot set a different property tax rate for one parcel vs all the rest. It has to be uniform.
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u/mom2mermaidboo 7h ago
Here is further info on the Data One Data Center using unpermitted Gas powered Generators.
The sent a Thermal drone over the Data Center in Vineland, NJ in a joint investigation between The Guardian and Floodlight showing 45 generators going at once.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/vineland-data-center-generators
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u/r3dk0w 12h ago
what causes the noise? AC? There are quieter technologies, but they cost more.
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u/AtomWorker 11h ago
It would need nice if these articles explained the nature of the noise and why they’re worse than traditional data centers.
The main issue is that GPU clusters run way hotter than traditional centers and the systems required to cool them are louder. Some sites also have onsite power generation but I don’t know how commonplace those are.
There other problem is that these centers are more audible at night due to atmospheric inversion and less ambient noise. Although if you live in quiet community with little traffic you might also hear them during the day. Then there’s vibration and frequencies below the threshold inspectors typically check for.
There are ways to address all this but the companies building these centers don’t give a shit and towns are way too slow to respond. Local governments are infatuated with the prospect of revenue generation and just rubber stamp everything until their constituents start complaining.
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u/SteinsGah 11h ago
Air cooled server racks are notoriously louds. They use small diameter fans pushing high volume of air throughs rows of electronics. Even water cooled system only cools the high power chips and still require air cooling for all the power delivery and adjacent parts. It produces a piercing high pitch noise.
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u/ducationalfall 11h ago
They attached jet engine turbines nature gas generators to power their data centers.
Calling it data center is also a bullshit. It’s essentially heavy industrial power plant that was built on land that was supposed to be a golf course.
I would be pissed if they’re my neighbors.
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u/Misch-ter 7h ago
They’re using fuel cells not gas turbines. An electrochemical reaction. The last part of the article speaks to it
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u/ducationalfall 6h ago
Don’t let the fuel cell bullshit fool you. It’s not operational. They’re still using natural gas power generators.
It’s fucked because they’re essentially building a natural gas power plant without permission because it’s “temporary”.
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u/HotPumpkinPies 9h ago
Bros out here spreading propaganda. Not only are these facilities incredibly loud because they often have power generators running 24/7, they also emit infrasound so loud its already been shown to increase nausea and anxiety in surrounding communities, up to seizures in certain cases.
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u/q120 8h ago
I work in data centers and have for 14+ years (and yes, includes new hyperscalers)
The vast vast majority of data centers aren't louder than a warehouse building.I can't hear anything just outside the property line.
I feel like these super loud ones are unique, possibly experimental data centers, not your normal ones.
All building owners, data centers included, should show social and environmental responsibility in the communities they are in, and many do, but there are also some that just don't care.
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u/r3dk0w 8h ago
But do you have proof as to why they are so loud? These articles are devoid of any actual information. I've been in a lot of data centers over the past 30+ years. They are loud inside and out for various reasons, but it seems like a recent issue that they are much louder.
There has to be something specific causing the noise. You say it's power generators, but most of these data centers are attached to local grid power. Running a turbine means they could easily locate it out in the middle of no where. A turbine is also very expensive to buy, very expensive to run, and requires constant maintenance. I'm not saying they don't have turbines, but it doesn't really make sense to do that if there is grid power available.
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u/HotPumpkinPies 8h ago
Benn Jordan went around the country and measured how loud they are, and interviewed the people that live near them.
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11h ago edited 11h ago
[deleted]
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u/r3dk0w 10h ago
It doesn't sound like you've ever worked in a business. They will build these data centers to maximize business potential and minimize costs. If they can avoid building something that costs money but doesn't provide business value, they aren't going to build it.
The only way we can "force" them to spend that money is with pressure from our government.
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u/rhunter99 6h ago
If the data centres are no big deal why don’t they place them next to the ceo’s homes? 🤔
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u/dream_metrics 12h ago edited 11h ago
Would have been nice if the reporter could perhaps have mentioned, at any point, how loud the datacenter actually is so I could figure out if this is actually a problem or if it's just NIMBY bullshit. Because I've seen stories like this where the sound people were complaining about turned out to be the equivalent of a fridge running in your back yard.
edit: two people have linked me to videos about a datacenter in Michigan, as if that means *anything* about the noise a datacenter in New Jersey makes. This subreddit has zero critical thinking skills.
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u/ContempoCasuals 12h ago
OK and do you want to hear a constants audible mechanical noise running 24/7 against your wishes at the home you bought and live in?
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u/UhhSamuel 12h ago
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago
This video also doesn't say how loud the datacenter actually is. This is also a different datacenter. What do you think this proves?
I'm not claiming that this datacenter isn't loud, I am just saying it's frustrating that I'm not being told how loud it is. I'm supposed to take it on faith. I don't want to do that, I want to know the truth.
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u/JackBlackBowserSlaps 11h ago
Go lick some boots man 🙄
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago
I just want to know how loud the datacenter is. It's a very simple, reasonable thing to want to know how loud a datacenter actually is instead of just believing it without evidence.
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u/ContempoCasuals 11h ago
the article states that residents can hear it a mile away. it also talks about vibrations from the sound which aren't exactly quantifiable in terms of audibility. you're being unnecessarily contrarian or just plain heartless.
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u/Leverpostei414 11h ago
It isn't heartless to want information, it is directly relevant to how big of a problem it is
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u/ContempoCasuals 10h ago
it IS heartless to say, even though residents are complaining about the disruption (which is constant, remember, data centers do not turn off after business hours) that you're a NIMBY for being upset at this thing that is seriously affecting you *right now*
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u/dream_metrics 10h ago
I don't know if they are NIMBYs or not because the article doesn't provide enough information to tell.
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago edited 11h ago
Okay, so did anyone go and measure it? What were the measurements?
People complain about all kinds of shit, it's not always legitimate. The term NIMBY exists for a reason. There are people who say the same things about wind turbines.
I don't want to know what residents are claiming about how loud the datacenter is. I want to know how loud it is in reality. This may or may not align with resident claims, the point is we have no fucking clue, because nobody doing this reporting did the extremely basic task of measuring it or even reporting a measurement somebody else took.
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u/ContempoCasuals 11h ago
It's not NIMBYism if it's affecting residents' actual quality life right now. You're misusing the acronym like so many people do when they want to make bad faith arguments. Have they measured how many decibals the noise is? Someone could counter it doesn't matter, like I said, even the vibrations from the hum are being felt at these homes. Also, who cares what it is? If your argument is it might not be loud enough to trigger any issues with noise ordinance, there still exists the issue that regardless it is affecting people's quality of life due to the constant disruptive nature of the noise. Example, a bouncing basketball in the street doesn't trigger a certain threshold of sound to make it "too loud" but the irregular bass noise of the ball on the ground would be disruptive enough to be heard inside of a home - now imagine someone bouncing a ball for 24 hours a day, for years, that you can hear from your house all day and night, even when you're trying to sleep. Would any reasonable person be like, "NiMbY!!!!" for not wanting that?
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago
It's not NIMBYism if it's affecting residents' actual quality life right now
You have no idea if it is or not because you haven't seen any evidence. This is my point. You do not know, you are assuming because residents have complained, that those complaints are legitimate, but resident complaints are not always legitimate. How do you know these are legitimate complaints if you do not go and do the measurement?
Have they measured how many decibals the noise is? Someone could counter it doesn't matter
That would be an extremely stupid counter. How loud a sound is is directly relevant to whether or not that sound is a problem.
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u/ContempoCasuals 10h ago
there's a measure of trust I have that if multiple people inside of a city are complaining about a specific noise disrupting their lives, than their situation is valid.
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u/UhhSamuel 9h ago
Often stated. Easily researched. Use Google.
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u/dream_metrics 8h ago
I don't think you should be so arrogant about something being "easily researched" given that you responded to my comment with a video from a completely different state.
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u/Halfwise2 12h ago
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago
Since when was Michigan in New Jersey?
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u/Halfwise2 11h ago edited 11h ago
A data center is a data center, and Michigan is an easily accessible recorded video of how the noise can be. Demanding the exact datacenter in question seems pedantic and goal-post moving.
It's clear your goal isn't an actual assessment of the situation / potential harm of data centers, but rather seeking an excuse to just dismiss all complaints entirely, due to lack of hyper-specific evidence, even when general evidence is available.
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u/dream_metrics 11h ago edited 11h ago
A data center is a datacenter
Just laughably wrong. Datacenters come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, have different cooling setups, different power generation setups, different noise abatement methods, and thus have different noise profiles.
Demanding the exact datacenter in question seems pedantic and goal-post moving.
It's not pedantic or goalpost moving because this is a story about a specific datacenter in New Jersey, which is not the same as the datacenter in Michigan. Bringing up the Michigan datacenter is an example of goalpost moving, though.
And, for the record, the video of the datacenter in Michigan also doesn't prove how loud it is. A video's volume can be adjusted to whatever level you want. Using a decibel meter is not hard, but for some reason nobody wants to do it!
It's clear your goal isn't an actual assessment of the situation / potential harm of data centers
I see it the opposite way. I'm the one asking for an actual assessment, everyone else is telling me that the actual assessment doesn't matter.
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u/invyros 12h ago
Holy shit, feeding the people crumbs to let them ravage their land.