Above Phone Announcements

⚡️ Learn to Spot a Data Center Before It's Built Want more practical tips and tools to help identify proposed data centers in your area? In this lesson from the AI Data Center Ecology webinar, we walk through the entire development process, showing you where communities have the best chance to take action before construction begins. This clip is just one lesson from the full webinar which is a companion to the AI Data Center Ecology Report. Dive in to explore the complete framework. — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

Statewide data-center moratoriums keep stalling. Locally, it’s a different story: we found 69 city, county, and town moratoriums, with 50 still active. Explore the research: https://aidatacentermap.org/

⚡️The Social Media Self-Image Feedback Loop Social media gives us endless opportunities to compare ourselves to other people and that constant comparison may be changing how we see ourselves. One study found that heavier social media use among young people was associated with more body dysmorphia, with image-based Instagram and Tiktok standing out. And it’s not just posting. Passive scrolling and constantly watching other people’s lives may actually be more closely tied to negative self-image than creating content yourself. That feedback loop between comparison, appearance, and self-esteem is one of the patterns we explore in our webinar Breaking Out of Tech Addiction. Do you think social media has changed the way people see themselves? — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

Maine lawmakers approved an 18-month pause on data centers and the governor vetoed it. The fight over slowing this buildout is happening right now. See the research: https://aidatacentermap.org/

📍 The Real Power Is Local Talking data centers and flock cameras with Hrvoje Morić from Geopolitics and Empire: by the time surveillance hardware goes up, the fight has already moved pretty far down the road. These systems get approved somewhere. The real opportunity is getting organized before your city council or county commission says yes. 📺 Watch the full episode 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report 🛡 Keep your private life private, Above can help — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Gridlock: How the AI Data Center Boom is Straining the Power Grid With data centers flooding grids with requests, some regions won’t be able to meet future demand. So what does it mean for us when our grid can’t handle the load? ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

☀️Solarpunk imagines a world where technology, nature, and the individual thrive together. Solarpunk Summit: The Love Dimension—a five‑day celebration of regenerative culture, tech, and consciousness—Oct 8‑12 in Kingsbury, Texas. We’re sponsoring Tech Day and need your help to give the future a sound. Create a 30‑second original ringtone that captures your vision of Solarpunk. Musical, rhythmic, organic, electronic, ancestral, experimental—anything that feels like the future we want. No looping required. Your ringtone could become a default option on Above Phone! Opportunity to Win: 🌱 An Above Phone 🌱 Perform your ringtone live at the summit (ticket required) 🌱 Your ringtone as a default option on Above Phone 🌱 Artist credit Finalists will be showcased and voted on live by judges. How to submit: Submit via the form Grab your summit ticket Dates: Oct 8‑12, 2026 Location: Son’s Blue River Camp, Kingsbury, TX Bring the analog back to the heart. Create technology and sound that reflects the world we want.

AI data center demand got so intense that in 2025, three major regional grids proposed emergency rules just to accommodate the influx. Some even created fast-track programs and “Bring Your Own Generation” options. See what’s changing: https://aidatacentermap.org/

⚡️Portable Loopholes: How Data Centers Skip the Line on Power Instead of waiting years for power plants, data centers bring in massive portable gas turbines, bypassing lengthy permits. Learn how this impacts air quality before it happens in your neighborhood. ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️Where Does the Privacy Line Stop? Hakeem recently sat down with Oto Gomes to talk about how surveillance has changed since the Snowden disclosures. Today, sensitive location data can be bought from commercial data brokers without following the traditional warrant process people associate with government surveillance. And location is only one layer. As our devices collect more about our bodies and lives, the real question is: where do we draw the line? 📺 Watch the full episode 📱 Put less of your life in big tech’s hands, go Above — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Why Are We Paying Data Centers to Move In? States give data centers tax breaks to "create jobs," but in reality, billions are lost, and the benefits are unclear. Let’s break down how these incentives really work. ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

In San Marcos, Texas, residents twice pushed back against a planned $1.5 billion data center that would use 380 MW of power—almost 2.5x the city’s peak demand. Read the case study: https://aidatacentermap.org/

⚡️ Five Steps to Spot—and Stop—a Data Center From land selection to environmental permits, data centers follow a predictable process. Knowing these five steps is key to stopping them—just like San Marcos did. People power works! ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Speaking Out Is Not Extremism Across the U.S., people opposing data centers are being labeled "violent extremists” when, in reality, the real threat is unchecked AI infrastructure. We need to call out the inversion: those protecting land and water aren’t the ones doing harm. 🎥 Watch the full interview here 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Predicting A Data Center in Your Area If power plants and high-voltage lines are nearby, a data center could be next. Use our interactive map to spot the patterns before they break ground. ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Persistence vs. Resistance: How Communities Are Pushing Back Against AI Data Centers From San Marcos, Texas, to counties in Florida, stopping a data center takes an informed, organized community. When residents rally, even billion-dollar projects can be turned away. 🎥 Watch the full interview here 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

The U.S. has been dealing with severe groundwater decline since the 20th century, driven by rapid development, agriculture, heavy industry—and now, data centers. If AI keeps booming, what happens to our groundwater? Read more about the risks to our water systems before it’s too late: https://aidatacentermap.org/ — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ Why Absolute Dominion Matters Did you know that the groundwater beneath your feet could be legally drained by industries like data centers? This can impact millions of people yet regulations often fail to hold abusers accountable. ✨ Read the full report here 📚 Watch the AI Data Center Ecology webinar — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ The U.S. Data Center Boom: Are We Heading for Empty Shells? With around 400 hyperscale data centers already online, we’re building at breakneck speed. Yet China’s example shows what happens when capacity far exceeds demand. What does this mean for the U.S.? 🎥 Watch the full interview here 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report — @abovephone Website | Substack | X