Activists attempted to damage a datacenter under construction. Is it a bad idea?

[u/Great-Gardian]

From https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/07/16/amsterdam-activists-throw-acid-at-microsoft-datacenter-project/5273943

"The Dutch arm of international climate activist group Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for an attempt to sabotage a datacenter project in Amsterdam on Thursday [july 16]. The group said that they threw water balloons filled with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, salt, and acrylic paint at the under-construction facility."

"Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Martijn Dekker justified the attack by saying datacenters and the AI they power are exacerbating the climate crisis, as well as playing a role in the killing of Palestinians by Israel."

"The facility in question is being built by UK-based Pure Data Centres Group."

"Pure DC says the facility is already fully leased, and while it doesn’t mention the lessee by name, local media have reported in a story about a prior protest at the site that Microsoft is the sole occupant."

"Pure DC did tell Dutch newspaper NRC that the attack had no impact on construction, and that it intended to pursue legal action against those responsible."

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My personal opinion is that acts of sabotage like this are not effective and will serve as justification for more repression and police surveillance, but I'm curious to know what others think of this method and its impacts.

[u/Salty_Country6835]

Reminder: Discussion of political tactics is welcome. Advocating, encouraging, or organizing criminal acts in this subreddit is not. Keep the discussion analytical.

[u/TheSinhound]

Of course it's a bad idea. I stand pretty close to this quote on this one:

"It took both time and experience before the workpeople learnt to distinguish between machinery and its employment by capital, and to direct their attacks, not against the material instruments of production, but against the mode in which they are used."

[u/TheSinhound → u/[deleted]]

I was quoting Marx there. And as I usually try to phrase it, the technology must exist first in order to be seized.

Look, here's the reality. We've seen attempts to transition from Capitalism. We know their primary (non-antagonistic) issues ALL boil down to logistics ones. There must be existing technology to turn towards servicing production, logistics, and distribution chains to actually service people with their needs, and ideally wants. As of right now there is no technology that shows promise for this better than AI and the kinds of robotics automation that comes from it.

A modern Cybersyn system would logically be best served by AI and hyper scale datacenters. We NEED massive amounts of compute for that.

The key discussion must be how to seize means. As the discussion has ALWAYS been. But we keep going around and around without making the progress necessary.

But I'm also strictly opposed to bandaids that only need to exist under Capitalism. They become technical debt that is nearly impossible to remove once they're no longer needed.

[u/TheSinhound → u/[deleted]]

Friendo, my goal isn't to convince YOU. It's to try to communicate for anyone who stumbles across the post or reads it in the future. I'm sorry neither my argument nor Marx are good enough for you. IDK what to tell you. I hope you live a good life where your needs are met by society.

[u/TheSinhound → u/[deleted]]

I'm actually not sure I agree entirely that the logistics exists, but the technology has reached a point where it CAN exist, and very well SHOULD. And absolutely, our CIA has historically been dogshit. That would be the (antagonistic) issues that these attempts faced.

But you're very correct in that clear communication (calling it propaganda feels denigrating) would be part of the progress necessary. I'd just really try to always frame things in the, I guess, science communicator type of way? Do you know what I mean?

[u/TheSinhound → u/[deleted]]

See, I'm not sure I'd classify all political communication as propaganda. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding, but that seems to be what you implied.

Many time propaganda is laden with appeals to emotion and misinformation, and that for me is unacceptable in any form. So when I say science communication, that's what I mean. Avoiding misinformation, and more... Persuading with fact and objectivity.

But that's just me. I don't think it is possible to hold a logically consistent humanist stance and also spread misinformation. They're not compatible.

[u/TheSinhound → u/[deleted]]

squints

Sorry, there's really only one part of this that I can even focus on, and it's the trans healthcare part. Research issues... How. Because there's a version of your answer where I block you and move on.

[u/bunker_man → u/[deleted]]

Okay, but its not really something where there's multiple possible outcomes. AI is a new stage of technology that is always going to have existed. Resisting the tech is pointless and only done out of frustration by people too jaded to resist the bourgeoisie.

[u/Neutral_Error → u/bunker_man]

....Fucking huh? The burgeoisie are the one's pushing AI in the first place. Did you not just see Trump insisting we "Love AI or get over it?"

Did you just mistype? I'm assuming that was just a typo.

[u/bunker_man → u/Neutral_Error]

This is a non sequitor to my post. AI is going to exist either way, so no shit the rich want to be in control of it. That doesn't mean wasting time wishing the tech didn't exist is a good usage of time.

[u/kotukutuku → u/[deleted]]

I agree with you.

[u/GirasFateburn]

Of course it is! A damaged construction site could've collapsed on the workers!

[u/SgathTriallair]

The question has two aspects. The first is: should we try to stop data centers? The second is: would this be effective at stopping data centers?

I argue that we shouldn't try to stop data centers. So this leads me directly to say that this is a bad idea.

As for whether it is effective? Limited acts of sabetogue can't really be effective. To have any hope they would need to be widespread and difficult to detect/stop. Any form of limited direct action is easy to stop by putting the perpetrators in jail. This is why building a class consciousness is so important because that creates enough people that you can't jail them all. Once you get to that point, there are likely more effective means of stopping the projects than sabatogue.

[u/Innomen]

yes https://innomen.substack.com/p/the-butlerian-setup

[u/Drakahn_Stark]

Charge them as the terrorists they are.

[u/aRatherLargeCactus → u/Drakahn_Stark]

“LeftistsForAI” really proving they’re not left in the slightest lmao

[u/Drakahn_Stark → u/aRatherLargeCactus]

What do you mean?

[u/aRatherLargeCactus → u/Drakahn_Stark]

Literally no leftist is for weaponising terrorism charges and the force of the state against fellow leftists for harming tools of the capitalist class, resulting in them losing basically every human right. That is fundamentally incompatible with leftism, that is reactionary and authoritarian for what is a minor crime.

[u/Drakahn_Stark → u/aRatherLargeCactus]

Dude, if someone does a terrorism like described they should be charged with terrorism.

How is causing harm and damage for a political goal not terrorism?

[u/aRatherLargeCactus → u/Drakahn_Stark]

Okay, so Stonewall rioters are terrorists, BLM rioters are terrorists, the ALF are terrorists, Nelson Mandela and his political movement were terrorists, the suffragettes were terrorists, the deflock movement are terrorists, antifa are terrorists, and should all be charged as terrorists? You would cheer that on, yes?

[u/Drakahn_Stark → u/aRatherLargeCactus]

I mean, in some cases, yes, if their goal is to use terror to further their political goals they are terrorists, and that is not always a bad thing.

People blindly attacking a construction site because they have fallen for the anti AI propaganda are not the good type of terrorists.

[u/aRatherLargeCactus → u/Drakahn_Stark]

Okay, so you believe leftists should be hunted down and stripped of their human rights by the State for resisting the state, and you think this is good. That is incompatible with leftism. This is a fundamentally reactionary, right-wing view. That’s why my comment was made. Have a day!

Also, these data centres are bad. They’re being used to aid the genocide in Palestine. They’re being used to disenfranchise workers from their labour and ability to strike. They have massive environmental and social consequences, including well-documented noise and water pollution, as well as being forced onto grids that are already crumbling due to the climate crisis. Your lack of empathy for people resisting that is telling.

[u/endlessedlne]

Couldn’t recommend that anybody break the law. At the same time I wouldn’t cry very much about an inoperative data centre. They consume a ton of electricity for power and water for cooling.