Pressure Systems edition
Data Center Enclosure, Biometrics, Cockroach Janta
May 28, 2026
What this edition shows
AI infrastructure is consolidating as physical chokepoints and biometric capture, with data center expansion igniting local resource conflicts while automated surveillance systems extend control into biological domains. State actors are responding to material friction by criminalizing anti-tech sentiment as extremism, even as distributed resistance leverages open-source mapping and memetic satire to contest algorithmic authority.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 10 sources
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US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows
As Americans stew over the looming risk of job-stealing AI and data centers in their back yards, the feds are raising the alarm about a new category of threat, documents obtained by WIRED show.
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The Web Is Being Made Accessible for AI, Not People
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Is the viral ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ a threat to Modi’s government?
Al Jazeera’s @avawarrinerr explores the rise of the Cockroach Janta Party.
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Erin Brockovich made a map to track data centers around the country
Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist whose name and work you may recognize from the Oscar-winning movie Erin Brockovich, has created a tool to map data centers across the country, along with a form for people to report data centers and their impacts in their community. “The RACE to build AI i…
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From gait analysis to fingerprint theft, how worried should we be about the latest advances in biometric technology?
GoldenDayz/Shutterstock You unlock your phone with your face, your fingerprint sends your laptop whirring into action, you pass airport security by glancing at a camera. Biometric technology has become so woven into the daily routine that for many people, it barely registers any more. That invisibil…
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The Fight for Civil Rights in the Age of AI
On Tuesday, May 12, the Center for Civil Rights and Technology hosted its 2026 annual convening, "All Eyes on Tech: Power, Protection, and the Fights for Civil Rights in the Age of AI," at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The Center is a joint project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and…
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The World Is Already Resisting AI. Now, There is a List to Prove It.
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Do AI Risks Require Extraordinary Government Intervention?
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When the Biggest AI Data Centre Comes to Your Town
The largest in Canada is proposed for Olds, Alberta. Residents scrambled to know its impact.
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India’s Gen Z ‘Cockroach Party’ is going viral
A satirical political movement called the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ has gone viral in India.