Part 2 of 2 — In the second part of this discussion with Hakeem Anwar, the focus shifts from the physical costs of AI data centers to surveillance, centralized AI, and the growing international AI arms race.
Anwar explores themes of privacy-focused technology, local and open-source AI, community resistance to data-center expansion, and practical ways to reduce dependence on centralized AI systems.
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About Hakeem Anwar
Hakeem Anwar is a strong privacy advocate and founder of Above Phone, helping people regain control over their technology and personal data. His work focuses on digital privacy, surveillance, and technological independence.
Anwar’s Data Center Map documents the physical infrastructure behind our digital world, mapping the data centers that power cloud computing, artificial intelligence, surveillance, and mass data collection. It offers a striking look at the real-world infrastructure on which our increasingly digital society depends.
Save up to $150 on privacy-focused devices—including laptops, tablets, and phones—while supporting the educational and advocacy work of my team, Take Back Our Tech, and Above. Use discount code DRTROZZI or access the offer here: Link↗
About the World Council for Health
The World Council for Health (WCH) is an international health advocacy organization that promotes informed consent, individual health autonomy, and greater independence in healthcare decision-making. It brings together health professionals, scientists, and partner organizations while providing educational resources and advocating for greater transparency in public health. This episode was shown on Youtube at the channel: Better Way TV by World Council for Health.
The rapid expansion of AI is increasingly being framed as an international arms race, with enormous computing capacity being developed for potential military and defense applications. The legitamacy of this justification is contested.
AI-powered surveillance is moving far beyond traditional monitoring, with increasingly comprehensive systems of data collection.
Private and local AI offers an alternative to centralized cloud systems, allowing AI models to run directly on personal computers or phones without requiring an internet connection or continuously transmitting personal data.
Open-source AI models are making powerful artificial intelligence increasingly accessible outside centralized Big Tech infrastructure, reducing dependence on massive remote data centers and corporate platforms.
Communities can challenge proposed data centers through local organizing, planning and zoning hearings, and direct engagement with elected officials, with organized residents already succeeding in stopping major projects.
Claims that data centers will bring economic prosperity and substantial permanent employment are very dubious.
Reducing dependence on surveillance-oriented technology begins with greater control over personal devices, including removing unnecessary AI integrations and using privacy-focused phones and computers.
Growing dependence on AI may come at the cost of privacy, technological independence, and human creativity, making it increasingly important to decide where AI remains a useful tool and where reliance on it becomes a liability.