Bring Home This Data Center Plushie and Listen to Its Eerie Scream

Uh oh, we have an adorable alert! Introducing Bezzy, your lovable, huggable, anthropomorphized server rack and plush companion! Give this soft little buddy a squeeze, and it will serenade you with its signature tune: the unmistakable, grinding ambient squeals from a genuine US data center.

The Bezzy doll is a plush creation born from a humorous collaboration between the New York-based creative studio Basura and Big Data, the musical endeavor of producer Alan Wilkis, recognized for the hit “Dangerous,” a 2013 partnership with the band Joywave. This joint venture, launching alongside a fresh Big Data single, is called Adopt a Data Center. Its mission is to provide a “cuddly introduction to life with a real data center.”

Data centers are currently very un-trendy. Developed by major AI corporations to fuel their ever-more demanding AI tools, these centers occupy extensive areas across the US. They face significant criticism for their high energy consumption and increasing reliance on gas power. Additionally, they tend to create noticeable noise, leading to complaints about sound pollution from local residents.

The Adopt a Data Center initiative hopes to shift perceptions on how the services offered by data centers impact daily life. This is represented by a plush toy resembling a server rack from a data center, featuring long arms, legs, and googly eyes. It’s cute in a way similar to the charm of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. When you squeeze Bezzy’s torso, a screeching sound erupts. It’s a few seconds of a recording captured by a neighbor of a Virginia data center. The tag on the Bezzy plushie proclaims, “Hug me for ear-piercing forever hum.”

“We selected this recording as it was the most distinct and appropriately irritating,” stated Rajeev Basu, the founder of Basura, in an email to WIRED. In a discussion with the individual who recorded the sound, Basu noted they described it as “like a car alarm going off nonstop. It’s high-pitched, and it consumes all your focus.”

Basura has engaged in various projects, including crafting luxury apparel for dogs and teaming up with Yerba Madre to create shoes designed to disintegrate during walks, dispersing wildflower seeds.

Along with Bezzy, the data centers project features a series of stickers conveying messages like “Every data center deserves a forever home” and “Open your heart. And your power grid.” Basu shared that the project stems from extensive interviews with people living near data centers in the US. The website itself states, “Adopt a data center: All they ask for is everything.”