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Meta's Plan For Nuclear-Powered AI Data Centre Thwarted By Rare Bees (ft.com) 42

An anonymous reader shares a report: Plans by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to build an AI data centre in the US that runs on nuclear power were thwarted in part because a rare species of bee was discovered on land earmarked for the project, according to people familiar with the matter.

Zuckerberg had planned to strike a deal with an existing nuclear power plant operator to provide emissions-free electricity for a new data centre supporting his artificial intelligence ambitions. However, the potential deal faced multiple complications including environmental and regulatory challenges, these people said.

The discovery of the rare bee species on a location next to the plant where the data centre was to be built would have complicated the project, Zuckerberg told a Meta all-hands meeting last week, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

Meta's Plan For Nuclear-Powered AI Data Centre Thwarted By Rare Bees

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  • Maybe Bombus affini (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jmccue ( 834797 ) on Monday November 04, 2024 @09:15AM (#64918199) Homepage

    I tried to find the species, but very difficult to find it. I could not get into the article and duckduckgo searches only found articles without mentioning the species. But I saw a summary mentioning:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_affinis

    So I am guessing that is the bee. FWIW, I remember seeing these as a kid, but for ages I now only see ones with a yellow band.

  • by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) on Monday November 04, 2024 @09:16AM (#64918201)

    By DR. BEES!!

    • What's this? A rare species of bees having their land stolen by a large tech corporation? My Endangered Species act of 1973 should put a stop to that!

  • by Anonymous Coward
    Because Mark Zuckerberg with a nuclear reactor was a good idea.
    • Now, if it was Zuck *in* a nuclear reactor, that would be another matter...

      • by cstacy ( 534252 )

        Now, if it was Zuck *in* a nuclear reactor, that would be another matter...

        You want Dr. Manhattan? Because that's how you get Dr. Manhattan. A 7 foot tall blue immortal Zuckerberg, swinging his giant naked dick around, but at least since he would be omniscient, he might lose interest in using networks to invade everyone's privacy for profit.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.

    • Companies should be required to post up "We made 13 species extinct in our efforts to make monetizing you more efficient!" The snag isn't only that there are goverment rules about preserving species, but that it's seriously bad PR for a company to assist in destroying a species.

      (We don't care if they wipe out a species of bees, but how dare they euthanize a squirrel that bit a human even if it might have rabies!)

  • by buck-yar ( 164658 ) on Monday November 04, 2024 @09:46AM (#64918289)
    Its surprising the brakes are put on the project. In my locality, the rules are for the little guy and the elite get to do what they want.
    • by sfcat ( 872532 )
      Its a nuclear project and the results are entirely unsurprising. After all, we must stop the environmental movement for the good of the environment. That should be satire and not objective fact but here we are.
  • No place, no species, no info. Some mention of MAMAA companies' plans. No there, there.
  • by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Monday November 04, 2024 @10:59AM (#64918467)

    headline says it all.

  • This is how most of the 1950's sci-fi movies started :

    (nuclear something) + (some kind of animal, preferably creepy) = Yucky Monster.

    It wasn't all bad.
    50-foot woman had about 1500 lb (680 kg) of boob.
    And Godzilla even made it to superstar status.

    Hollywood take note.

  • Convenient to play word-games right after other big tech companies make a splash in the news that they're going to power back up idled nuclear power plants to get energy for their projects. All FB was doing was planning to build a new data center near an existing plant so they could claim they ran on all nuclear power. That doesn't help things at all if the plant has to increase usage of alternate fossil fuel powered ones to offset the usage?

  • Gotta love the irony of the plans of a company like Meta being thwarted by environmentalist regulations..

  • Move the bees and build a nuclear plant. Or you end with yet another coal plant.
  • Unless that plant had already been shutdown, or Meta was going to be the sole reason it wouldn't be shut down imminently then the datacentre was never going to be green. Buying up existing green energy just pushes your emissions to those people who can't.

The computer is to the information industry roughly what the central power station is to the electrical industry. -- Peter Drucker

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