AI’s elite celebrated in Washington as the public sours on data centers and chatbots

Well, what a jolly knees-up they had in Washington: the AI Honors gala, a glittering soirée where generals, lobbyists, and administration insiders gathered to pat themselves on the back for 'transforming' healthcare, engineering, and security. Energy Secretary Chris Wright was on hand to declare AI 'transformative' — because nothing says transformative like a thousand data centres sucking up enough electricity to power a small country, all while the public grows increasingly queasy about chatbots that can't stop hallucinating. Kevin O'Leary, aka 'Mr. Wonderful', was presumably there to offer some wonderfully vapid commentary on how AI will make us all rich, just as soon as we stop worrying about jobs and energy bills.

But the real story is the gap between the champagne-soaked self-congratulation inside the ballroom and the growing unrest outside. Polls show the public is souring on data centres — those unlovely concrete boxes that devour land and water — and on chatbots that promise the world but deliver autocorrect with attitude. The irony is exquisite: the very people who have spent the last two years hyping AI as a panacea are now hosting a gala to celebrate it, while the rest of us are left to deal with the consequences. You couldn't script it better if you tried.

And what's the plan? More voluntary commitments, more 'responsible AI' task forces, more committees. The Washington elite will keep patting themselves on the back until the lights go out — literally, when the data centres finally brown out the grid. Then they'll hold another gala to celebrate 'resilience'. Cheers, lads.