COMMENTARY:
There is no reason to trust the argument that Project Jupiter’s contribution of jobs and
economic growth is at all worth the tremendous costs to our community. There is no reason to trust this industry at all. These promises continue to carry a false sense of weight as they pattern themselves around the exploitation of small underprivileged communities in the borderlands.
Cities like ours have a harder time than wealthier ones, saying no to a meager amount of money and jobs offered at the expense of our land, air, water, and health. Billion dollar companies like Open A.I. and Oracle excel at finding and using these communities: places that offer massive tax breaks, commissioners that sign NDAs, counties that keep their constituents in the dark.
We must not stay quiet while marketing campaigns called “Elevate New Mexico,” blatantly omit the harms of Project Jupiter while glorifying its potential. Decisions made to develop data centers are not based on community needs whatsoever, but on how easy it will be to abuse local governance. Jobs and economic growth are easy, front-facing ways to convince the public (one uninformed of the true costs) that projects like this are beneficial.
If this project was going to do so much good for our community, then why all the
haste and secrecy? Where is the transparency we deserve? What successful business that has received a green light from our commissioners, needs a marketing campaign with promotions on billboards, in local newspapers, mailers, and YouTube ads?
Senator Cervantes explains this perfectly, “A worthy project can withstand oversight, a worthy project can withstand scrutiny and very candidly this project has endeavored to avoid oversight and scrutiny… They’re taking advantage of commissioners who are uninformed and ill-prepared for the task ahead of them.”
The presumed benefits AI will provide fall far beneath the destruction it will cause upon our society, environment, and health. It is an unnecessary commodity, a convenience that humans are currently battling for resources. Greed and wealth are the real driving force here. This has never been a political issue, but one of class. Our futures are more important than short term growth. What is money worth when you have no world to spend it in?
Annie Ersinghaus, Las Cruces, NM
Annie Ersinghaus' opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.