Some electricians believe that building data centers is for sales

Like big tech companies After billions of dollars were poured into the construction of the American data center, a large number of opportunities were opened for electricians to connect these huge facilities.

In some cases, the scale of projects and challenging construction timelines are fueling talent wars for the industry’s best and brightest. The US-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has claimed that its workers are “promoting the AI ​​revolution,” and a set of “Data Center Principles” published in March claims that union action is “essential to the future of AI.” Tech companies are trying to embrace this moment: Meta recently announced its Skilled Trades Academy program, and Google pledged $50 million to help train people for skilled trades.

But amid growing national opposition to data centers, debates about the ethics of massive construction are beginning to emerge in some pockets of the online community.

Topics about how AI will impact the economy are now Pepper r/electricians, a subreddit with about half a million visitors a month. Some users wonder if this action will eventually lead to widespread job losses. Others are unsure whether their work makes them complicit in the harm done to local communities or whether it is unethical to do data center work. For some, the answer is consistent no. Ultimately, they argue, work is work.

One Midwest-based electrician says he no longer tells people what he does for a living.

As a “single guy trying to date,” he told WIRED, “the conversation changes or stops altogether” when he reveals his line of work. He recalls a few instances where people told him “how terrible it is to contribute to something like this.”

“This is usually the last time you hear from them,” he says. (The electrician, like others who spoke to WIRED, asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.)

He has some concerns, mostly about the prevalence of fraud and how “corporate greed” can lead to the doom of workers. But he also specifically sought work in a data center and was willing to accept a pay cut so he could work. He saw a unique opportunity for advancement – ​​although he was hired as an electrician, he was promoted to a management position within months. He hopes to eventually move into an engineering role.

“I saw it as: ‘Okay, this is probably going to be a major part of our future,'” he says. If you can’t beat them, join them.”

Meanwhile, an electrician named Ryan says he’s never worked in a data center and probably never will. “I think the governments of the world, not just ours, are becoming more right-wing and more fascist,” he told WIRED. He doesn’t trust companies that operate in this context and believes CEOs like Elon Musk and Alex Karp are all “shady at best.”

Ryan believes that if AI were intended for charitable use, things would be different. But he thinks the reality looks more like “four or five AI companies exchanging money with each other in a circle.” He’s also worried about the AI ​​bubble.

As an IBEW worker, Ryan has some control over his work — he can say yes or no to the job the union offers. Ryan says his branch sometimes serves small jobs for local data centers, something he found easy to avoid. Even if he remained unemployed for a long time, he would still find it “really hard to take that job call.” (He also rejects other jobs he finds unethical, such as those in private prisons.)