Super Intelligence Factories
“We need a new name,” said Crannock, running his hand through his thinning hair in exasperation.
“I don’t see why,” retorted Miriam. To her mind, you called it what it was — a center that processed data. Why would you call it anything else?
“I know, it makes no sense,” replied Crannock. “But people are up in arms. For some bizarre reason, they think they’re dangerous.”
“People!” exclaimed Miriam, for the hundredth time that day, it seemed. “Not a critical thought between them. If only they thought like engineers…”
It was one of her favorite refrains. She genuinely couldn’t understand why “people,” as she referred to them (not the ones she knew, of course — all the other ones out there), were so irrational. Why couldn’t they just look at the facts and come to a reasonable conclusion? In this case, that data centers were simply an elegant engineering solution that made life better for people. For them, for Christ’s sake.
Crannock pulled out a chair and sat next to Miriam. “OK, so it’s irrational,” he said, “but at the end of the day it’s just a problem to be solved. And like all problems, it can be broken down, bit by bit, into manageable chunks. It’s just engineering. Only in this case with people, not machines.”
“So where do we begin?” said Miriam.
“With the name,” said Crannock. “Let’s think through this, step by step. Let’s assume people don’t like data — don’t ask me why. Maybe they’re scared of what it says, or what it can be used for. Either way, data is a ‘third-rail word.’” He was pretty proud of this — he’d heard someone from Policy use the phrase once, and it had stuck with him.
“And ‘centers,’” said Miriam, getting into the spirit of things. “Detention centers are pretty scary. Maybe they think they’re the same thing. Detention centers for data!”
They both laughed at this one. But what could you do?
“OK, so ‘data’ and ‘centers’ together sound scary,” continued Crannock, “if you don’t know what they are, that is — as these people apparently don’t. So what’s the alternative?”
Miriam grabbed a pen and started scribbling on her notepad. “Let’s get back to basics. What are the data centers doing?”
“Generating intelligence, for one thing,” said Crannock, getting into the flow. “At least that’s what ours are doing.”
“Great. ‘Intelligence’ is pretty friendly. Even my mom uses AI. Let’s use that. What next?”
“Intelligence centers?” mused Crannock. “No, we’ve still got the ‘center’ issue.”
“How about farms, pools, fields, warehouses, repositories…”
”…factories!” interjected Crannock. “Factories. That’s it! Who doesn’t love a good factory? I know I do!”
“Mmm,” mused Miriam. She wasn’t too sure of her ground here. But as an engineer, she did get excited about making stuff. “Intelligence factories. It’s certainly got a ring to it. But it’s a little boring. Do we really want these people thinking engineers don’t know how to have a good time?” Her time on the Engineering Public Relations Committee had impressed on her the importance of making people understand how exciting engineering is.
“How about ‘Important Intelligence Factories’?” said Crannock. Miriam hid an eye roll. It was clear he hadn’t done much time in PR, unlike her. “Or ‘Vital Intelligence Factories,’” he continued. “Or maybe ‘Essential Intelligence Factories.’”
“Super,” murmured Miriam sarcastically under her breath, thinking — not for the first time — how uncreative engineers could be. But she immediately felt guilty. They were the smart ones here, and they needed to stick together.
“Super…,” she murmured again, thinking. Then louder. “Super. That’s it — Super! ‘Super Intelligence Factories!’”
“Works for me,” said Crannock, and started drafting the memo.
Outside the facility’s gates, the usual group of protesters began to disperse as the light faded. The cause was important, but then so was family, a full belly, and a good night’s sleep. As they packed their signs and banners away, the air was filled with a brief flurry of messages declaring “Down with Data Centers,” “Data Centers Are the Devil,” and “Data Centers Be Damned.” And amongst them, a few that said “Stop Super Intelligence.”
It wasn’t that the protesters were necessarily against data, or centers, or even superintelligence as such. But they were against corporations that acted without any thought or consideration for others — especially when it came to something as intangible as AI. And facilities like this were an easy target for them to vent their frustration on.
More than anything, they were angry that no one ever took the time to actually listen to them; to treat them as real people with real worries, and ask what they thought and cared about. And to take them seriously, rather than simply assuming they knew all the answers.
Over the next few days, the “Stop Super Intelligence” signs began to grow in number.
Looking out of the window, Crannock said, “We need a new name…”
Author’s Note
As well as a somewhat tongue-in-cheek rapid-response to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggesting data centers be renamed Super Intelligence Factories (in remarks given on September 28, 2026, he was reported as saying “We used to call them data centers but the things that we’re building now, these are really SI factories, super intelligence factories”), “Super Intelligence Factories” reflects many of the disconnects that so often arise between engineers trying to solve problems with an engineering mindset, and publics who feel that they’re being steamrollered while having something forced onto them that they don’t want — and are looking for ways to push back.
This is a disconnect in understanding, communication, perspective, and worldview, that plays out time and time again with the development and use of emerging technologies. And it often starts with scientists, technologists, engineers, and companies, being so sure they have the answer to someone else’s problem, that they don’t see the need to actually ask them what that problem is — or even if it’s something that needs solving. And, of course, there’s always money involved somewhere…