Accountability

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.

Update:  McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024.  New York Times best seller.

I live in San Jose, California which is identified as the birthplace and hub for worldwide technological innovation in the area of computer science.

Now that the 2026 midterms are essentially behind us, my attention goes to an issue that has reached large audiences on national and international scales during this election cycle. An issue that cries out for leadership, honesty, accountability and civic action by all of us.

The issue is large scale AI-driven Data Centers. I recently participated in a City Council District-wide forum on the topic here in San Jose. Our largely affluent district showed up in large numbers to passionately express their knowledge about Data Centers and also to express deeply felt concerns over issues affected by these big box electronic data storage facilities.

This event was organized by the People Over Data Centers San José Coalition and a multi-generational organizing team composed of high school students and adults, supported by local nonprofits including Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley, and the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. This youth run organization is doing strong informational and organizing work to bring this issue to the forefront of the fickle item of public attention. This event was attended by our current district council member and two candidates looking to fill her seat on the city council. Experts discussed health issues, environmental issues and technical issues. The forum was billed as a listening session for the council candidates as well as an opportunity for constituents of District 9 and other interested San Jose residents.

A key point for me came up during a presentation by the Sierra Club on the construction of a vast system of electricity coming into the city from the north and the south. This electricity development project by the private utility Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. would triple the amount of electricity being provided to the City of San Jose. On the surface, you might say that this added electrical supply will lower consumer energy bills and be a net winner for the city.

If it were such a good thing, why do I have to hear about it for the first time at a community forum? Why wasn’t the City of San Jose tooting their horn about this great work that they were doing to lower energy bills? Why was so much more electricity supply necessary for a city that currently has enough electricity in the grid to support it’s current population and expected growth in the near future?

Maybe it’s because the City of San Jose, Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Public Utilities Commission are prepping this city, known locally as the capitol of Silicon Valley, to be a center of these massive data storage facilities. There are so many questions to be answered on data centers. Why do we need them? Why do we need so many of them? If they are so good for us, why isn’t the City of San Jose and it’s city council jumping up and down to take credit for this mutually beneficial gift to the citizens of San Jose and surrounding communities?

The elephant in the room is, of course, Artificial Intelligence or AI. Before our community makes decisions on whether or not to have these physically impactful operations in our community, shouldn’t we also be having a discussion, a real democratic-style discussion about whether we should proceed with Artificial Intelligence development at a breakneck pace before we more fully understand the consequences of our decisions.

If you are a resident of San Jose as I am, you can attend one several People’s AI Data Center Town Halls happening all over city, like the one I attended in District 9.
You can also attend an upcoming Planning Commission Meeting on November 18 when city staff will present “final” draft standards of Data Center development in San Jose.

Finally, the standards that clear the Planning Commission will be voted on by the San Jose City Council on December 8. These meetings can be attended in person or virtually over the Internet and written public comment can be made submitted via email to cityclerk@sanjoseca.gov. Because the Council Members usually decide how they’ll vote before the meeting, you’re also invited to attend the City Council meeting on November 17 and give a public comment during Open Forum at the end of the meeting, around 6pm. RSVP here so you can get an update on the expected timing. 

If you are in a community that is not named San Jose, California, you too can speak up about Data Centers in your community and express your concerns about AI.

Get to it!