US backlash against AI data centers puts Silicon Valley on defensive

The opposition is not simply local resistance to development. According to The Guardian, everyday Americans are up in arms against AI data centers sprouting across their communities. While much of the backlash has focused on stopping the proliferation of the sites, public opinion has also turned against the AI project that called them into being.

A survey by Marquette University Law School found that 73% of Americans think the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, and 70% think AI is bad for society. Pew Research Center surveys show that in 2021 only 37% of Americans said they were more concerned than excited about the technology; that share has climbed to 52%. Even 55% of young adults, usually the most excited group, have soured on it. The concern crosses party lines: Democrats and Republicans alike are far more concerned than excited, and Americans are generally more mistrustful of the technology than people in other countries.

The Guardian traced part of the fear to statements from Silicon Valley. A widely shared belief that there is at least a 10% chance AI could cause human extinction has frightened many, and it follows repeated claims that artificial intelligence will end all jobs as they are known. Promises of an AI cure for cancer or a universal basic income to replace wages sound hollow, the report said, coming from out-of-touch billionaires in a country with large holes in its social safety net.

The political backlash also rests on a deeper discomfort with how decisions are made. Henry Farrell, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University, said the push against data centers speaks to the frustration of people who do not feel they are making the choices in their lives. AI ethicist Rumman Chowdhury argued that the dominant Silicon Valley narrative—that AI systems are becoming so powerful that nobody, including their developers, can stop them—is a stratagem to avoid responsibility for harm and deprive people of recourse to law.

The report recalled a dinner organized by a Silicon Valley mogul and described by Stanford ethicist Rob Reich in “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot It.” The technologists discussed building a small nation-state designed to maximize science and technology powered by commercial models. When Reich asked whether it would be a democracy, he was told no: “Democracy is too slow, and it holds science back. To optimize for science, we need a beneficent technocrat in charge.”

The popular backlash is unlikely to stop the buildout of data centers, according to The Guardian. President Donald Trump remains on the side of the moguls hoping to build an AI future. In response to public opposition, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eliminate a rule that requires states to solicit public input on applications for air pollution permits for industrial facilities such as data centers and the power plants that feed them, a move that could keep locals unaware until construction begins.

Tech’s power still insulates it from small democratic pressure, the report said. “If there is one sector in the US that is still globally dominant and profitable, it is tech,” Boston University historian Quinn Slobodian said. “They can be confident that even if there is a change of leadership, the next person will have to dance with them anyway.” The Guardian also cited a bipartisan consensus that the United States must keep its artificial intelligence capabilities ahead of China.

Editor's Summary

The Guardian reports that local bans, moratoria and public distrust have put Silicon Valley’s AI expansion under pressure, with majorities in surveys saying data centers cost more than they deliver and that AI harms society. The backlash reflects frustration over decisions made without public input, but it is unlikely to halt data center construction as political leaders and federal agencies continue to support the industry. The report also cites bipartisan support for keeping the U.S. ahead of China in AI.