The public opposition to AI infrastructure is heating up

The article discusses growing public opposition across the United States to the rapid expansion of data centers driven by the AI boom. This backlash has prompted several states and localities to consider or enact temporary bans on new data center construction to assess their environmental and economic impacts. Notably, New York proposed a three-year moratorium on new data center permits statewide, while cities like New Orleans and Madison, Wisconsin, have already paused new developments following public protests. This resistance spans the political spectrum, with figures such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs supporting measures to limit data center growth, reflecting widespread populist concerns about the tech industry's footprint. Despite the pushback, major tech companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft plan to significantly increase capital expenditures on data center infrastructure to meet growing AI compute demands. Polling indicates that nearly half of respondents oppose new data centers in their communities, though many remain undecided, suggesting public opinion could still shift. In