Charlie Berens, the popular Wisconsin comedian known for his Midwest-specific humor, is taking a stand against the construction of artificial intelligence data centers in the dairy state.
In the past couple years, plans for multiple AI data centers have proposed for Wisconsin. While the companies building the centers tout benefits like increased jobs and technological advancements, many residents and environmental groups have sounded alarm bells about the cost to the Wisconsin’s natural resources.
In advance of Port Washington’s Common Council meeting Oct. 7, Berens took to social media to share his thoughts about the village’s plans for a 3.5-gigawatt data center campus for Denver-based company Vantage. The Port Washington Common Council unanimously approved the $8 billion venture in August.
In the video, part of Berens’ popular comedy news series “Manitowoc Minute,” he suggests questions residents should ask local representatives and express skepticism about, including “Will my power bill go up?”, “What chemicals are being put in the water to cool the data centers?” and “How many jobs will this data center guarantee?”
“Folks, these questions should be asked to your state senators ’cause they make the rules. And right now data centers are like roundabouts. There are no rules,” Berens says in the video.
Berens also suggests people try to get answers to their questions in a written, legally-binding contract.
It’s not the first time Berens, who is from southeastern Wisconsin and rose to fame around 2017 after the release of “Manitowoc Minute,” has used his platform to share concerns about AI and the costs of the data centers needed to fuel it. He also criticized the proposed Port Washington data center in an August “Manitowoc Minute” video after the village’s Common Council approved the plan, despite residents voicing concerns.
This story was updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Comedian Charlie Berens speaks out against Port Washington AI data center
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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