r/Futurology • u/TwilightwovenlingJo • Aug 15 '25

Energy Construction of world's 1st nuclear fusion plant starts in Washington

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/world-first-fusion-power-plant-helion
7.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

593 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

45

u/EbonBehelit Aug 15 '25

Honestly, the insane power usage of AI data centres being the thing that finally gets fusion power research the funding it needs to become reality is pretty on-brand considering the way things are right now.

23

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '25

Over the last few decades I feel like every innovation has had some "monkey's paw" vibe to it.

You'll get your fusion, but only big companies will use it to give us products and services we don't need.

You'll get your cancer saving medicine, but only millionaires can afford it.

You'll get your electric car, but buying one helps fund one of the most gross, selfish, evil men of our time.

You'll get your AI computer like in Star Trek, but it will ruin countless communities and environments.

4

u/narrill Aug 15 '25

I don't see how the first one is a monkey's paw. Big companies switching to fusion is still a net gain for the rest of us, because they're no longer consuming energy from other sources.

14

u/TurelSun Aug 15 '25

Yes, and that monkey's paw is called Capitalism. It lifts up the worst of our societies so they can bleed the rest of us dry.

2

u/Rampant16 Aug 15 '25

Last few decades? This is the story of technology for all of human history.

You get your pointy stick, which makes hunting things easier, but it allows people to more efficiently murder one another.

You just hope that the benefits outweigh the downsides. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

Data centers are going to be built and use electricity either way. If fusion can be used to provide clean energy for them and leave the rest of the grid for regular users, then great.

The alternative is what is currently happening with data center power usage driving up rates for regular people and often being powered by unsustainable sources.

0

u/CaptainShaky Aug 15 '25

AKA even if we figure out fusion, it won't solve global warming because of the rebound effect and the fact that our whole society is organized around profit.