this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2026
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Michigan residents sue AI data center emitting noise 24/7 — company fined for industrial noise ordinance violations, offers to buy homes from residents (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 21 hours ago by Some_Emo_Chick@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
49 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Residents of Dowagiac, Michigan, just filed a lawsuit against a data center that allegedly generates a high-pitched whining sound — and has done so 24/7 for the past two years.

The data center, which is owned by Alliance Cloud Services LLC, a subsidiary of Hyperscale Data, used to be an industrial building that sat behind a row of pine trees across the street from the most affected residents, according to ABC-affiliateWXYZ. The site started development in 2018 and was eventually turned into a cryptocurrency mining center in 2021. But in 2024, something changed drastically when the building started emitting noise pollution around the clock. Residents say it sounds like a vacuum cleaner in their living room, and the company has offered to buy up homes from unhappy residents.

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[–] WesternInfidels@feddit.online 48 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (2 children)

Hyperscale Data CEO William Horne told the residents directly in a special council meeting that the site is pivoting away from cryptocurrency operations towards AI computing and advanced robotics, and that it’s spending $100 million to achieve this.

Why would anyone outside the business give a shit about this? Why would the CEO think anyone outside the business gave a shit about this?

Why aren't the datacenter owners ever willing to spend, say, $10 million on making the data center actually quiet instead?

[–] EliteCloneMike@lemmy.zip 6 points 13 hours ago

His real audience are the investors and people who stand to make a profit off of this data center. CEOs rarely if ever addressing anybody but the shareholders. It sounds dumb in that context, because it is, but when you realize who the real audience is, it makes sense. It’s shitty.

[–] HeartyOfGlass@piefed.social 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Why aren't the datacenter owners ever willing to spend, say, $10 million on making the data center actually quiet instead?

I think you know the answer to this - $10 mil on soundproofing doesn't make the Bottom Line go up. The only people they're trying to please are the folks that profit off the company.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I think you know the answer to this - $10 mil on soundproofing doesn't make the Bottom Line go up

Neither does buying out 10 million worth of houses.

[–] HeartyOfGlass@piefed.social 4 points 15 hours ago

I didn’t see anywhere in the article where they say they were going to buy the houses for that amount. Do you have other information?

'Cause otherwise - those homes have been severely devalued because of that data center. Unless the CEO was feeling generous (ha), those homeowners would be forced to sell for a bottom-of-the-barrel price. And that is much cheaper than litigation.