[khuey]

I'm not usually an "AI is going to kill us all" kind of person but on the off chance we do get Skynet/etc why would we give the machines the literal high ground?

[Terr_]

I think it's less Skynet and more Wintermute: Some people saw the movie Elysium or read a summary of the book Neuromancer, and decided those were aspirational visions of how to be Untouchably Rich In Space.

Though there is a simpler explanation: Some guy with lots of stock in Rocket Launches and Datacenters has an extreme financial incentive to push stories where spending on both things simultaneously is the big new thing.

[jayGlow]

there has been a lot of pushback about building new data centers basically anywhere on earth might as well build them in space.

[short_sells_poo]

Because that's the next generation's problem, and we can do more to mortgage their future for our own luxury :)