Above Phone Announcements

⚡️When Every Database Becomes One Database I told Oto Gomes why I see platforms like Palantir as a new surveillance paradigm: separate pieces of information—your car, property, relationships, location—can be connected into one investigative picture. Privacy changes dramatically when the question isn’t what one database knows about you, but what happens when all of them start talking to each other. 📺 Watch the full episode 📱 Build your digital life on technology designed for privacy — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️️️️How to Be Sick - Real World Ayurveda Ep.7 Episode 7 is aimed towards empowering your exit from the failed sick care system. Hakeem and Nicole discuss the mindset of successful sickness/detox. Supporting your body to remove harmful waste and becoming all the stronger for it is the hallmark of independence medicine and healing. This informative episode not only inspires courage, but is packed with accessible and practical remedies. True to the ethos of Real World Ayurveda, when you learn how to be sick in the real world, the power is in YOUR hands. Be sure to also read the “Learn How To Be Sick” article, as it presents the foundation of this important conversation, along with additional information not discussed on this Podcast. 📺 Watch on Substack 👉 Subscribe to Real World Ayurveda

Winter is coming! Learn how to be sick. Watch our latest episode of Real World Ayurveda.

People issues are solved with people power. Talk to your neighbors. Know your council members. Learn how data centers get approved in your town—before there’s a vote. Get the report: https://aidatacentermap.org/

Linux is not what it was 10 years ago. While Windows and macOS increasingly revolve around data collection, subscriptions, and closed ecosystems, Linux takes a different approach: greater transparency, deeper customization, and real ownership over what happens on your hardware. It’s stable, fast, and capable of handling everyday tasks. From browsing and email to documents, video calls, and creative work. Linux distributions are more user-friendly than ever before. Linux is for everyone, not just for nerds. Read more on our blog, where we dive deeper into why Linux may be worth the switch. https://abovephone.com/above-linux-laptop-vs-mac-or-windows/ — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ 40% of America’s Power For What? On Manova we got into what all this AI compute is actually being built for. I don’t buy that consumers are going to use it all. Planned AI data centers could demand around 200 GW, roughly 40% of today’s U.S. power supply, while AI is increasingly being framed as national-security infrastructure in a race with China. So if this is an AI arms race, why are our power bills, water supplies, and communities footing the bill? 📺 Watch the full episode 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report 📱 Stop feeding big tech, Above can help — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

AI data centers aren’t just being built to answer prompts. They can support robotics, cyber-defense, massive surveillance systems, predictive policing, and an international race for AI dominance. That changes the conversation around why this infrastructure is expanding so fast. https://aidatacentermap.org/ Image from The Animatrix which truly has some interesting ideas about an AI future.

You’ve taken steps to protect your digital privacy. What about the rest of your life? There are powerful solutions hidden in plain sight. We’re talking about lawful remedies—often buried under decades of confusion, gatekeeping, and misinformation. We’re partnering with Sacred Honor Educational Fellowship (SHEF) to share an educational process we’ve experienced firsthand. Join our Lawful Privacy Webinar on October 20 at 7 PM CDT, hosted by Hakeem with Michael Joseph, Daniel Mentz, and the SHEF team. We’ll explore: • The hidden layer of freedom beyond digital privacy • What “lawful remedy” really means • The difference between privacy and self-determination • Practical steps toward greater personal independence Bring your questions for a live Q&A and learn where to start—even without a legal background. 👉Free to attend. Register: https://abovephone.com/webinar/

⚡️Less Screen Time, Better Outcomes Two large studies found something worth paying attention to: limited phone use may have some benefits, but once usage climbs past a certain point, the outcomes start getting worse. For students, more time on social media, gaming, and browsing was associated with lower math scores after that threshold. Another study of 40,000 adolescents found a similar “Goldilocks” pattern across stress, sleep, depression, and other measures. This clip is from our webinar, Breaking Out of Tech Addiction. Do you limit your screen time? — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

Some energy developers build out land, power, and water infrastructure before they even have a confirmed tech tenant. Entire communities can be reshaped around a project that is still speculative. Explore Chapter 15: https://aidatacentermap.org/

🌐 Digital Embassies: Who Controls the Compute? I spoke with Hrvoje Morić from Geopolitics and Empire about a bigger question behind the AI data-center boom: what happens when countries without their own infrastructure become dependent on foreign compute? We get into “digital embassies,” digital ID, surveillance, cashless systems and why building alternatives outside that infrastructure may become increasingly important. 📺 Watch the full episode 📖 Read the full AI Data Center Ecology Report 🛡 Take back control of the tech you depend on — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ What If We Built Our Own Internet Infrastructure? Oto Gomes asked me what my ideal tech future looks like. I see small communities running their own servers for email, files, video calls, even local AI instead of depending on giant centralized platforms for everything. This future is attainable and it’s up to us to create it. 📺 Watch the full episode 📱 Start building a tech stack you actually control — @abovephone Website | Substack | X

⚡️ 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/