Less than a year ago, local and state leaders were bragging about the jobs and tax revenue that data centers had brought to their communities. Now, amid a public backlash, many are running from them like scalded dogs.
In January, a Politico poll found that Americans were more receptive than opposed to having data centers built nearby. Six months later, a new survey shows the reverse: 41 percent oppose a data center near them, up from 28 percent in January, while support dropped from 37 to 24 percent.
Data center jitters run especially deep among Democrats. But skepticism also has risen among President Trump’s 2024 voters, who are now split on the issue despite his hyperbolic endorsement of data centers as “big, strong, bold … Money Machines.”
If these growing public qualms lead to a more deliberate, community-building approach to data centers, rather than today’s frenzied digital goldrush, so much the better. But if instead they trigger a panicky rush to freeze all new construction, they will weaken U.S. economic innovation and growth and pass the baton of AI leadership to China.
The sudden cratering of public support for data centers stems from a confluence of popular anxieties. Most important are worries about spiking energy and water bills in host communities and the incipient fear that AI robots might be able to do our jobs better than we can.
