“…I think that the data centers, the hyperscalers, have become the physical manifestation of people's anxiety about the future.”
Decoder with Nilay Patel · Tech Strategy & Big Tech · August 2026
Nilay Patel had just argued that the AI labs do not have a marketing problem so much as a product problem. Hochul agreed that people already see the benefits, then located the backlash somewhere else: the buildings. She went on to talk about the STEM and coding careers she spent years urging young people into, which now look like the first jobs to go.
Transcript
…technologists to consider the questions that come after the AI breakthroughs. Questions that don't have easy answers, but need to be asked. If you're curious or concerned about AI, join me as we challenge assumptions and ponder the issues together. Find Pondering AI wherever you get your podcasts.
…asks, as you've been describing. How would you handle that for them? How would you say, look, these are big build outs. The potential benefits to humanity are high. And from the government side, here's what you actually need to say and promise to people in order to work on this productively.
…not that people know the benefits. You know, your kid gets a bite, you're going to take a picture and ask Claude, is this a tick bite or a mosquito bite? Do I need to worry about this? I mean, the way that medicine has even been integrated into people's lives asking questions. So it's already being employed in a positive way for the people who want to use it in a positive way, as you've said. I think that the data centers, the hyperscalers, have become the physical manifestation of people's anxiety about the future. Think about all the young people that I literally spent years myself at go into STEM careers, kids learn science and maths, you'll have a job forever. Oh, yes, study coding and computer science. The jobs are going to be there. Guess what? Those are the jobs that are going first. People are anxious about displacement. They're worried about they're not opposed to advancement in technology in the…
We haven't talked about the stadium, but we can get there.
We'll get to the stadium. We saved the bills. That's all you need to know. They're not in another state. There are the Buffalo Bills, and they weren't going to be. But right not far from there, my parents used to live in a trailer park near the steel mill. Everybody worked at the steel plant…
Can I connect to you two dots here? My point
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