As Huge Tech is pouring billions of dollars into building data centers in America, numerous opportunities have opened up for electricians wiring these huge facilities.
In some cases, the scale of projects and demanding construction schedules are fueling talent wars for the industry’s best and brightest. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) based in the USA he argued that its employees are “fueling the AI revolution” and a set of “Data Center Principles” published in March argues that union work is “essential to the future of artificial intelligence.” Technology companies are trying to meet the moment: Meta has recently emerged announced skilled trades academy program and Google involved $50 million to support train people in skilled trades.
But amid growing national opposition to data centers, debates over the ethics of massive expansion have begun to emerge in some online communities.
Threads about the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy now appear on r/electricians, a subreddit visited by about half a million users a month. Some users wonder whether the work will ultimately lead to widespread job losses. Others are unsure whether their job makes them complicit in the harm done to local communities, or whether taking a job in a data center is unethical. For some, the answer is a company NO. Ultimately, they say, work is work.
One Midwestern electrician says he no longer tells people what he does.
As a “single guy trying to date,” he tells WIRED, “the conversation changes or cuts out completely” when he reveals his profession. He recalls several times when people told him, “how terrible it is that you contribute to something like this.”
“That’s usually the last time you hear from them,” he says. (The electrician, like others who spoke to WIRED, requested anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to reporters.)
He has some concerns, mainly about the spread of fraud and how “corporate greed” could spell doom for workers. However, he was specifically looking for a job in a data center and was willing to take a pay cut to get into the company. He saw a unique opportunity for advancement – even though he was hired as an electrician, he was promoted to a management position within a few months. He hopes to eventually move into an engineering position.
“I just saw it this way: ‘Well, this is most likely going to be an important part of our future. And if you can’t beat them, join them,'” he says.
Meanwhile, electrician Ryan says he has never worked in a data center and probably never will. “I believe that world governments, not just our own, are becoming more and more right-wing and fascist,” he tells WIRED. He distrusts corporations operating in this context and considers executives like Elon Musk and Alex Karp “suspect at best.”
Ryan believes that if artificial intelligence were intended for charitable purposes, the situation would be different. But he believes the reality is more like “four or five AI companies just exchanging money with each other in a circle.” He also worries about the AI bubble.
As an IBEW employee, Ryan has some freedom in doing his job – he can accept or reject work offered by the union. Ryan says his division occasionally handles petite jobs for local data centers, which he says is simple to avoid. Even though he had been out of work for a long time, “it was really hard for him to want to accept that job interview.” (He would also refuse other work that he considers unethical, such as working in a private prison.)