I wouldn’t go that far. All the websites, apps, and electronic services we use every day are hosted in some datacenter somewhere. I’d say we get value out of that.
They didn’t become a political football until the AI companies drastically increased how much power and cooling each rack used. I don’t think we’re getting enough extra value out of stuffing AI in everything to justify the added environmental cost over more standard, non-AI web services.







But as long as it can be converted to legal tender, it still counts. Some folks get paid partially in stock, after all, and it works for them.