Culture Wars
“Culture Wars” – A cartoon that illustrates how people can hold strongly opposing views, each grounded in what they see as informed knowledge, yet still arrive at completely different interpretations of the same facts.
Humans like to believe disagreement comes from missing facts and that access to the same information should eventually bring us closer to the same truth. However, once an idea becomes an article of faith, new evidence is often interpreted through the narrative already sitting in our heads. Research led by Yale’s Dan Kahan found that people with the strongest scientific literacy and quantitative reasoning can become more polarized on contested issues, suggesting that knowledge can make us better at defending an existing worldview rather than reconsidering it.
The current controversy around data centres is a good example. Sam Altman recently argued that concerns over AI’s water consumption are badly exaggerated, claiming that 38,000 ChatGPT queries use roughly the same amount of water as producing a single California almond. The comparison has been challenged because estimates of both AI and agricultural water use vary widely, but it captures one side of the argument. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders reaches almost the opposite conclusion. He has called for a federal moratorium on new AI data centres, warning that they will have a “profound impact” on land and water, drive up electricity costs and contribute to what he describes as a potentially “catastrophic impact” of AI on working Americans.
Both can find evidence for their case. Berkeley Lab estimates data centres consumed about 4.4% of US electricity in 2023, while Loudoun County, Virginia, says data centres generated $1.2BN in local tax revenue in 2026, representing 39% of its overall budget.
Therefore, the question is not which side has facts, because both sides of this debate have lots of them to bring to the table. It is which facts people choose to emphasise, how they measure them and which consequences they decide matter most. Kahan called this a “culture war of facts, not values.”
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“Very true! I am learning a lot about confirmation biases and the “misinformation epidemic.” The truth is that wisdom, today, is not just the ability to discern truth and make hard decisions, but also to hold epistemic humility at heart. Humans are biased and limited, so it is important to acknowledge our limits and to be open to new perspectives. This is the truth about how we can be wise is the modern world.”
“The observation about Dan Kahan’s research on scientific literacy and polarization hits on why technical consensus is so elusive in leadership decisions. When infrastructure debates like data centre water consumption turn into articles of faith, how do you successfully separate architectural evaluation from entrenched team narratives?”
“Humans anchor to a worldview, then read every new fact as confirmation of it – steady, but not reliably true. Ask an AI model the same question twice and you can get two different answers from identical inputs – inconsistent, but each one argued on its own merits. Neither is quite the objectivity we tell ourselves we’re getting.”
“True, but let me give you another example. When natives in the Caribbean first saw English sailing ships, their perception was that the island was moving toward the ship and not the ship toward the island.
Perception can be based on worldview. For example, that drawing could be 4 or 5 things. A duck, a rabbit, a robot, a robot based on a duck, a robot based on a rabbit, a human in bondage gear with a couple of handles and glory holes (shocking, I know, but now try and unsee it!)…)
My point is that a rational human can hold several worldviews. They can hold a worldview based on observable facts or provable lies.
Our political situation is defined by observable facts and provable lies. The problem right now is that the right (The Republicans) have gone to extensive lengths to build a worldview on provable lies.
Data Centers make themselves casualties. Greed drives companies to attempt to garner resources illogically. Many/most data centers have moved into communities the people who live there built. The residents built the water supply; they built the electrical supply. The Data Center takes the resources and forces dangerous shortages on the residents. Data Centers now face the revolt their predecessors created.”
“I think it’s interesting data centers are the Internet. And Democrats and socialists are against 4.4% of US electricity, and less than 1% of water (a completely renewable resource), being used for that purpose.”
“The cartoon version actually makes the point better than the text does – two people staring at the same thing and seeing opposite problems is harder to argue with than a paragraph.
Kahan’s result is uncomfortable because it closes off the obvious fix. If the issue were just information supply, you’d solve it with better data. But when understanding sharpens the defense rather than loosening it, there’s no clean intervention.
My guess is the only thing that moves someone is changing what they’re optimising for – not what they know.”
“Seems that the IT and AI sectors are reducing the amount of honest, respectful personal discussion among real people, as well as greatly reduced trust within, and across, our societies.
Artificial == Not Real == Fake
Thats not what the ‘computer industry’ was designed for.”
“Sam Altman and Bernie Sanders? Really? I guess you couldn’t find a less trustworthy spokesman for either side …”
“It’s … a post.”
