To the editor: In a time in which a majority of Americans think AI is more likely to harm than help them in day-to-day life, as previously reported in the Los Angeles Times, NIMBYism should not be conflated with opposition to data centers (“‘You’re a liar.’ Why the world’s biggest building boom has run into a wall in California,” April 2).
“NIMBY” is a term used derisively for the latent hypocrisy. Here, opposition to data centers is more akin to “not in anyone’s backyard.” Confusing the two does a disservice to the people who will suffer from data centers and AI, no matter where they live.
Michael Smallberg, San Diego