Data centre backlash set to sway midterm elections

In the course of a single election cycle, the backlash against data centres has grown from an issue at local planning commission and city council meetings to become a flashpoint in state and federal races across the country, according to the Tribune News Service.

Candidates who once touted data centres as an economic boon have backtracked, and voters in at least three dozen cities, counties and townships will consider ballot measures in November that could ban data centres in their communities. Analysts say the opposition to data centres has come from Republican and Democratic voters alike.

“The people are speaking, and they’re speaking in one voice in opposition to this infrastructure,” said Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst. “It is not something that people desire in any shape, form or fashion. This potentially could be the issue that gives you the status of a former member of a city council or a former member of Congress.”

Last month, UMass Amherst published a poll, directed by Nteta, showing that only 11% of Americans would support the construction of an artificial intelligence data centre in their local community. The poll found that 65% of respondents oppose the construction of such facilities. Local and national activists have a long list of grievances against data centres, which tech companies are aggressively building to provide the computing power for artificial intelligence platforms. The rapid buildout of data centres is expected to strain the electrical grid and drive up energy costs, some forecasts show.

Opponents are also concerned about the facilities’ pollution, water use, noise and conversion of farmland and other open spaces. Many developers are also building private, “behind-the-meter” natural gas plants to power their data centres, increasing concerns about emissions and public health.

Some activists also object to the artificial intelligence technologies the sites will power, which threaten to disrupt the economy, replace workers, erode critical thinking skills and mental health and even — according to some tech executives — potentially kill all humans.

“For so many years, Ohio rolled out the red carpet to become a tech hub,” said Nick Owens, an attorney with Conserve Ohio, a campaign seeking to block data centre development. “Unfortunately, what we’ve become is a tech dump.”

Activists across the country have lashed out at elected officials from both parties who have offered state and local tax breaks in order to entice data centre developers. They’ve also called out local officials for negotiating deals behind closed doors and signing non-disclosure agreements with large tech companies. “The politicians are chasing the grassroots, they aren’t leading on the issue,” said Anthony Elmo, public education defender with Good Jobs First, a policy group that tracks government subsidies related to economic development. “(Politicians) who were very pro-data centre a year ago are now coming out against them due to political factors.”

Tech companies have launched their own political efforts to respond to the backlash. Industry leaders argue that artificial intelligence is key to the nation’s economic competitiveness. They note that the data centre boom has created many construction jobs and increased property tax revenue in communities desperate for more money.

Leading the Future, a tech-backed Super PAC, has invested in federal and state campaigns in support of both Republican and Democratic candidates who support artificial intelligence. Josh Vlasto, the group’s co-leader, argued that the narrative around data centres has conflated the industry at large with its worst offenders — speculative projects that disregarded local opposition and failed to meet environmental standards.

“(Voters) want the jobs in their communities, they want the revenue, but they want the risks and downsides mitigated and addressed,” he said. “There is backlash in communities that don’t want them, but if you look to the states that are building and doing it right, these data centres are being welcomed and generating a massive amount of revenue. If this is done correctly, I could see this issue turning drastically in a different direction.”