From the Great Basin to Gaza: How Nevada Data Centers Power a Global Surveillance Pipeline

• US-funded AI systems used by the Israeli military for surveillance and targeting are being imported as models for domestic policing.
• Data centers in Northern Nevada, such as those in Reno and Sparks, provide the essential infrastructure to power these global surveillance networks.
• Private tech firms like Palantir and camera providers like Flock and Axon operate in a feedback loop with military and intelligence agencies, impacting both war zones and US cities.

Military AI and US Collaboration

• Israel’s Unit 8200 developed generative AI systems like 'Lavender' and 'The Gospel' to generate target lists with minimal human oversight.
• The US has provided approximately $174 billion in aid to Israel, effectively financing the development of these technologies.
• Systems like Palantir’s ELITE, used in domestic DHS surveillance projects like Operation Black Rose, mirror the tools used in Israeli cyber warfare.
• These systems are prone to fatal errors, such as the use of the Maven Smart System in an airstrike that killed 120 children at a school in Iran due to outdated information.

Domestic Surveillance Proliferation

• Law enforcement in the US is increasingly adopting tactics and surveillance architectures pioneered in occupied territories.
• Flock camera systems, while marketed as simple Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), facilitate the connection of private and public cameras into massive, searchable national databases.
• The reliance on these systems has already led to wrongful targeting, such as the case of Chrisanna Elser in Colorado, who was falsely accused of a crime based on erroneous ALPR identification.

Local Impact and Resistance

• Data centers pose significant environmental risks, including groundwater contamination and noise pollution; in the Great Basin, these toxins remain trapped due to the region's lack of water drainage.
• The author advocates for community resistance, including opposing the construction of new data centers, participating in tax resistance, and challenging the state's reckless deployment of AI.