Appalachian Artists Sing Their Opposition To Data Centers
Appalachian musicians are using protest songs to oppose data center development and the artificial intelligence systems those facilities support. West Virginia artist Greg Wilder is focusing on the proposed Ridgeline project in Tucker County, which has drawn legal challenges from local organizers and environmental groups over potential impacts on the region’s natural areas and tourism economy.
Musicians across Appalachia are reviving the region’s protest-music tradition to criticize data center construction and the expansion of artificial intelligence. Betsy Jakob of the climate justice band Betsy from Mars connects current technology development with the labor and environmental exploitation associated with the region’s coal-mining history.
West Virginia musician Greg Wilder wrote a song opposing the Ridgeline data center project, which could span thousands of acres in Tucker County near Davis and Thomas. The project has faced legal challenges from local organizers and environmental groups concerned about its effects on places including Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, Dolly Sods and Bear Rocks. Pittsburgh musicians Shane McLaughlin and Margot Darling are also protesting AI’s effects on human creativity, while folklorist Ted Olson of East Tennessee State University described protest music as a powerful way for communities to express opposition to current events.