You would have thought drawing down local water sources, creating brownouts, and generally pushing the national power grid to its breaking point would have been enough.
But, with data centers, too much is only a bump in the road to (unproven) wealth, (unlikely) dominance and (undetermined) success. This horserace already has 3,000 to 4,500 data centers already up and running, 400 to 500 under construction and 1200 to 2500 in planning and permitting.
That’s a hell of a starting gate, and a big prize, but if you think racehorses are expensive, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Even so, the prize is speculative, the winner’s circle tiny, and China is out there somewhere, lurking on the backstretch. Everyone but China is accruing enormous debt. Who knows how much ‘dark money’ is out there? But we’re not even halfway through the the race, and $1.3 trillion is admitted…and only that, because loans must appear on balance sheets.
That $1.3 trillion is only the tip of a very large iceberg, and only a tip that small sank the Titanic.
I’m told that tech giants are dipping their wicks into the largest capital expenditure in human history.
So far, they haven’t improved my financial status by a thin dime, but they’ve put you and me, and everyone who reads this, at the largest financial risk in human history.
It seems that global data center investments are projected to reach $6 trillion to $7 trillion by 2030, and looking even further down that home stretch, some onlookers with particularly strong binoculars see a staggering $31.6 trillion in cumulative capital flows through 2050.
Capital flows, are they?
Who sorts through the fallen jockeys (investors) spread all over the racecourse when the first horses fall, and take everyone behind them down as well. If history serves, it’s always we two dollar bettors in the stands who get left with the losses.
If you think you’re not at risk because you have no debt, think again.
The home you own free and clear will be unsalable when you plan to retire and downsize.
The stocks you own, 401-ks, other retirement accounts, and the value of your dollars in the bank will be crushed.
The financial boost you planned to give your kids will be gone as well.
In the conversation about ‘worst in human history,’ this race to gather ‘all the information in human history’ poses an economic crash that will make 1929 look like a picnic in the park.
If the AI monetization horse breaks a leg before crossing the finish line, the financial disasters in world markets may not create soup-kitchens, or trigger millions of residential foreclosures, but it promises a catastrophic correction in corporate values, lost jobs, and the collapse of credit markets that blindly financed the most impossible of all horse races in human history.
And there you and I will stand, holding a worthless $2 ticket on a horse named “Anything Goes.”
It seems that all too soon after the starting bell sounded and the gates flew open, Anything Goes was run down by Everything Went.
Sleep well.
What the hell, it’s only your life savings, your retirement, and the future for your children and grandchildren.
Elon Musk will probably weather the storm.