Data centers have a politics problem — and industry knows it – POLITICO
Data centers have a politics problem — and industry knows itAs opposition to the AI projects gains momentum, industry supporters say they have ceded the narrative to their critics. Illustration by Anna Wiederkehr/POLITICO
The companies that build and run data centers are on the losing end of a populist backlash — and they’re struggling to respond.Fears that the server-packed data hubs will drive up electricity prices, deplete water supplies and gobble farmland have prompted people across the country to pack meetings of zoning boards and county commissions to oppose the projects, while fueling calls from leaders in both parties for state or national moratoriums. That opposition has become a rising obstacle for an industry that is in the process of developing an estimated 1,500 data centers, in large part to support the growth of artificial intelligence.
Source: Data centers have a politics problem — and industry knows it – POLITICO
