Vampire Pimps: “AI Ready Roanoke”

I have before me a paper entitled “AI Ready Roanoke.” It’s fourteen pages, but I can give you the important bits in two (scroll to the bottom for the full document).

In this document, issued on August 31, 2026, the Botetourt County Economic Development Authority has just informed us that the “Roanoke region is at an inflection point.” How did we come to an inflection point? Is this a cosmic event? Chance? Or is this yet again the product of some very officious, eager-beaver, small-town vampire pimps, who would procure for a pederast for a pat on the head? You know which way I incline.

BoCo EDA is pimping with its friends:

“The coalition includes Botetourt County, the City of Salem, the City of Roanoke, Roanoke County, Carilion Clinic, Google, Virginia Tech, Radford University, Roanoke College, Virginia Western Community College, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, and the Roanoke Regional Partnership.”

What do they want? To link the Google data center with an “innovation hub” in Greenfield, a “workforce development center” in the old Salem Post Office, and a “biotech incubator” at Carilion Clinic, all to bring about “Innovation acceleration,” i.e.:

“Support for AI-enabled startups and applied projects, extending the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance’s existing accelerator programs rather than creating a parallel pipeline.”

Mind you that “acceleration” is a watchword for the technofeudalist likes of Nick Land, Curtis Yarvin, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman etc., and its point is always economic disruption.

This is all necessary, you see, because the “2025 Virginia Chamber AI Landscape Assessment found that approximately 115,300 jobs in GO Virginia Region 2, roughly 32 percent of the total, are exposed to AI-related change.” Notice again the passive construction of this language. Why are we exposed to AI-related change? Might it have something to do with the construction of a hyperscale data center in Botetourt?

This document solicits the services of a “consultant” who “will validate regional demand for AI adoption, workforce, and innovation programming.” Look at that: validate. They want somebody to justify what they’ve been planning for years.

Among said consultant’s duties will be the following:

“Recommend a legal governing body and define partner roles across private industry, participating localities, and higher education. Recommendations should reflect the operating realities of comparable regional AI center models, including AI Ready RVA in Richmond and out-of-state models such as the New Jersey AI Hub. Governance design should be aimed at making a nimble, innovative organization that can respond to fast-changing technological advances and industry needs.”

A governing body made of corporations, government, and education. In other words, yet another fascist public-private partnership to bedevil the public.

In keeping with this fascist framework, the consultant will take notes from corporations, local governments, and similar public-private partnerships, and the public be damned:

“• Company interviews. 32 to 40 interviews across the four target clusters, with a minimum of 8 per cluster. Local economic developers will assist in facilitating interviews. These interviews are expected to be completed in person.

• Partner and institution interviews. 8 to 14 interviews with localities, anchor institutions, and prospective board members to inform governance design and the pro forma. These are separate from the company interview count and must be conducted in person.

• Model initiatives. 3 to 5 interviews with comparable AI initiatives, innovation hubs, and researchers who have examined such initiatives across Virginia and the nation. The coalition can make introductions to at least three model initiatives or researchers.

• Sampling frame. The proposer must define a sampling frame spanning company size, cluster, and AI-adoption maturity so that interview counts are not met by reaching only the most accessible firms.”

Let’s not forget to name the executive committee of this cancer. If we had a polite society anymore, they shouldn’t be allowed near it. Here’s the roster:

“• Angela Joyner, Vice President of Economic Development and Corporate Education, Radford University

• Brad Boettcher, Innovation Administrator, City of Roanoke

• Brad Fravel, Executive Director of LINK, Virginia Tech

• Chris Trumbell, Chief of Staff, Carilion Clinic

• Clay Allsop, Public Affairs, Google

• Erin Burcham, CEO, Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance

• John Hull, CEO, Roanoke Regional Partnership

• Kyle Rosner, Director of Economic Development, Botetourt County

• Laura Treanor, President, Virginia Western Community College

• Megan Baker, Director of Economic Development, City of Roanoke

• Ryan King, Chief of Staff, Roanoke College

• Tommy Miller, Director of Economic Development, City of Salem”

Let’s call out John Hull and Kyle Rosner for particular dishonor. These guys are all over the shady business I’ve been investigating the past few months.

It is high time to tell these people they are not free to prostitute our resources, our economy, and our future.

Also in this series:

Vampire Pimps: Going Regional, Going Global

Delegate Terry Austin: A Primer on Evasive Political Flatulence

Vampire Pimps: In Their Own Words

Private Betrayal, Public Defiance: Botetourt’s Board of Supervisors

Vomitous Prattle & Statutory Conspiracy: The 2026 Comprehensive Plan

The 2026 Comprehensive Plan: Bend Over

The Botetourt Data Center, The Planning Commission, and Broken Promises

The Botetourt Data Center: Vampire Pimps

The Botetourt Data Center: The Legacy of Fascism

The Botetourt Data Center & the Lie of Freedom