So they finally invented tinnitus as a service.
Where do I subscribe?
I would like to unsubscribe please
wish every fucking AI fanboy on this goddamned planet had to endure this shit
The sound: https://www.tiktok.com/@ayathetigress/video/7650601803972627726
According to Billy Finn, the noise is actually getting louder. He’s been tracking the decibel levels on Louise Avenue since 2022, when Hyperscale Data began operating. Back then, the sound level was around 52 decibels. Today, they’re typically around 61 decibels, and sometimes go as high as 78 decibels, he told the paper.
Inside his house, it goes down to 39 decibels, which is about the level of a quiet office or library, according to the American Academy of Audiology. But it jumps to 62 decibels when he opens the door, sounding a bit like a passenger jet taxiing on the runway in the distance.
And that’s 24/7/365.
Remember that the next time you “ask ChatGPT” instead of making a web search.
He must have a well-insulated house if opening and closing the door makes a 23 decibel difference.
Too bad he can’t open his windows, though. Or enjoy his yard.
Can’t wait for the backlash to tear these datacenters down, or the economic cliff to shut down their operations.
Not at the range of things under 70 decibels.
Decibel scale is logarithmic, so down at around the 60 level, the difference between 30 and 60 is basically the difference between a normal conversation and someone whispering.
…sounding a bit like a passenger jet taxiing on the runway in the distance.
That could be because they use turbine generators for power when/if the local grid can’t support what they want. The major difference between the turbines used in aircraft and the ones for datacenters is the load. Giant fans for planes, generators for datacenters.
Please ignore the obvious onesidedness of the link below. Its there to show I’m not making this ip. It’s shitty that this is allowed and they aim to siphon off as much money as they can.
https://www.greengasturbines.com/blog/gas-turbines-for-data-centers-hyperscaler-power
“green” gas turbines, what the fuck?
Mmm, nice clean diesel 🥴
There was also the article about the millionaire (billionaire?) that got their private plane to be taxed as green. IIRC
I think it’s a whole company. They got “private jets” listed as “green transportation.”
Words are fucking meaningless these days.
Are you under the impression that a web search does not use data centers?
Google in particular has a lot of infra to support their search, which actually used to be good
It does not use AI data centers. Those are not remotely on the same scale as what we called a data center before this LLM hype started. This infrastructure will not have another use once the bubble pops.
There is a difference between using X amount of resource to provide an actual output that justify spending X amount of resource, and using X*1000 resources to provide zilch.
It doesn’t need nearly as many. AI inference is orders of magnitude more expensive than a single search query (ignoring the fact that Google does it’s own inference with search queries now). And that doesn’t even include training, which is stupidly expensive to do.
Sure. But let’s not pretend Web search is innocent here. Wanna be eco friendly, walk to your local library.
Using this a lot lately, huh
I always knew datacenters were energy hogs and general badly designed environment wise, but this seems it’s just doing it because who is going to stop them? The neighbors? Fuck them, apparently
Neighbours do that for thousands of years. Data centers are at least somewhat useful…
60dB is quite tame, just measured my AC and it’s 55dB. Try closing the window?
I think the issue with most datacenters is the frequency, not necessarily the noise level. A low hum that permeates everything, even if it’s not “loud” can become debilitating.
I agree that the frequency is very important, if it’s a loud hum it’s a loud easier in the ears
Wow, you have no idea of how decibel works do you?
The decibel scale is not linear, it is logarithmic.
The power of a sound at 60dB is about 3 times that of a sound at 55dB.
[EDIT]
Corrected my estimate based on correct data in the comments.
Apparently you have no idea either. 60dB is almost double from 55dB, not 5x. If you account for ear perception it’s close to 1.5x.
I have updated my comment, with correct data, you are still wrong, but less wrong. As 60dB is about 3 times louder than 55dB.
I am sorry for the confusion.
Decibels are a logarithmic scale. Each step is an increase by a power of ten.
So the difference between 55 and 60 is far larger than it it would initially seem
But we don’t perceive a doubling as a doubling
…why the hell is your AC screeching, though? You should fix that immediately it’s not normal.
I put it to full fan speed to increase energy efficiency
60dB is like a constant conversation happening by your ear, non stop, and at a constant shrill frequency. A person shouldn’t have to significantly alter their lifestyle to accommodate a blight on humanity that’s also destroying the environment.
If I open the window right now I can get loud cars all the time and nobody wants to ban that
Do you have a constant stream of cars driving by your window 24 hours a day? If you did, maybe you’d feel different. Also, lots of people do want to ban not just loud cars, but all cars. I had loud cars and trucks. If I’m inside and hear a loud diesel truck with straight pipes and aftermarket loud exhaust, it pusses me off. I absolutely think that shit should be illegal, and I’m certainly not alone.
All of that aside, these people lived where they live before the DCs got built and now their lives are negatively affected because of it. The DCs should have to make every concession to not negatively affect residents. If that means spending billions more on technology to block noise, close loop cooling systems, and prevent localized increases in air temperature, then they should have to do that. If they can’t, then they don’t deserve to exist. The life and comfort of any individual citizen is more important in every way over the existence of any AI data center.
Why should I have to keep my windows closed to dull the constant noise?
