A tech CEO said AI critics would balk at losing ChatGPT. Reddit pushed back, and some daily AI users said they would still pull the plug.
A tech CEO says people who oppose AI data centers would change their minds if it cost them ChatGPT. Reddit users disagreed, loudly. Some of the sharpest replies came from people who say they use AI every day and would still be fine seeing it go.
Cyrus Beschloss is the CEO of Verb, a company that lets people sell access to their personal data to businesses, including those building AI. At CNBC's Trading the Midterms event, he said many people who call themselves anti-data center or anti-AI are using AI themselves. He added, "There's going to be a heck of a crossroads." TechSpot reported his comments.
The question landed on the r/technology community on Reddit. One user, VirtualAmoeba3017, replied, "In a minute." Another, Color_Me_Softly, wrote, "Easiest decision ever." Others wondered why anyone assumed ChatGPT had become something people could not live without.
The more interesting replies came from users. Commenter southflhitnrun wrote, "I use 3 regularly and would welcome their destruction." Another, buckleyschance, said they use large language models often but would still choose to eliminate them if they could.
Chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini run on huge computing systems. Those systems need electricity, cooling and physical space. Data centers can use a lot of power and water, and nearby residents may worry about noise, infrastructure and local utility costs.
Data centers also do more than run AI. They support cloud services, streaming, websites and apps. Shutting them all down would mean giving up far more than a chatbot. Stopping new construction is also different from removing the computing power that already exists.
The article's author argues that using a product does not mean backing every choice its maker makes. A person can find ChatGPT useful and still question how it is being built.
An August 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that 52% of Americans are more concerned than excited about AI becoming part of everyday life. Only 9% said they were more excited than concerned.
Tom's Guide opened a reader poll on the question, but no results are in the material. Reddit comments are also not a scientific sample. They show a mood, not a measured share of the public.
Using AI and questioning the data centers behind it can go together, and that debate may reach local plans and utility costs.
A writer gave Claude control of his rooted LG TV and fixed slow startup, uneven app volume and a dull screensaver. The privacy gains are less certain.
Read more: A writer used Claude to fix his LG TV's slow startup and loud appsDeactivated Uber and Instacart workers are turning to ChatGPT to write appeals and build evidence. One driver says he got his account back in about a week.
Read more: Gig workers use ChatGPT to fight getting kicked off Uber and InstacartVoters in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, banned large data centers after a $900 million plan. Here is how a town of 6,600 did it, and what other places can learn.
Read more: Small Ohio town votes to ban a $900 million AI data center
