With 26 days left before the U.S. midterm elections, and after 23 months of incessant whining about President Donald Trump, Democrats trying to wrestle control away from Republicans in Congress have stumbled across an issue to coalesce their campaigns around.
It’s not men playing in women’s sports, it’s not gender, race or even “affordability.” It’s not the war in far-off Iran. It’s noise.
Gallup and a host of national polling outfits finds 71% of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their communities, with nearly half strongly opposed. Polling also shows broader unease with the speed of AI development and the idea that the new tech “will kill all of humanity.”
Only 20% of Americans say that new data center construction is good for the country.
Lucky for wannabe incumbents, the argument against requires very little knowledge of artificial intelligence.
Big Tech receives tax incentives to build enormous industrial facilities. Those facilities consume electricity around the clock. Utilities need new generation and transmission capacity. Residents worry about higher power bills, increased water use, noise from the industrialization of their communities and the noise data centers emit.
Democratic candidates appear to have an advantage on the issue.
Fox News polling found voters trust Democrats over Republicans to regulate and oversee data-center construction by 14 points. The advantage expands to 26 points among independents and 35 points among voters under 30.
Progressive groups, including the Tech Oversight Project, are encouraging Democratic candidates to make data centers, utility bills and Big Tech tax breaks part of their closing midterm message.
Local officials have already moved faster than Washington.
Nearly 500 communities have reportedly imposed pauses, moratoriums or bans on new data centers.
Officials from Hillsboro, Oregon, to Palm Beach County, Florida, have stopped new applications while they reconsider power, water and infrastructure demands. Data Center Watch and Carbon Direct estimate that local opposition has delayed or canceled more than $150 billion of proposed projects across more than 20 states.
The newer AI facilities give residents plenty to notice.
AI chips pack far more computing power into each building than the cloud servers of the previous decade. They also throw off tremendous heat. Operators install industrial cooling equipment and backup generators to keep the machines running. Residents living nearby hear the resulting low-frequency hum day and night. Some have gone to court over it.
Moving the buildings farther from populated areas solves one problem and creates another.
Data-center developers still need enormous quantities of electricity and access to high-voltage transmission lines. Texas officials have tightened the screening process for large new connections.
Developers who cannot secure sufficient grid power increasingly have to consider their own natural-gas generation and other on-site power sources.
The AI buildout has therefore acquired a political constraint alongside its financial and electrical constraints.
Hyperscalers can raise billions of dollars. Nvidia (NVDA) can sell more chips. Utilities can order turbines and transformers. Data-center developers can buy hundreds of acres beyond the suburbs. They still need local officials to approve the projects, utilities to connect them and voters to tolerate the consequences.
As the midterms approach, all three are becoming harder to secure. Andrew’s Pro pick offers an old-school solution to this political theme du jour.
~ Addison
P.S. Today, Grey Swan Live! returns with John Robb. We’ll be continuing the conversation that John has started in recent issues of the Grey Swan Bulletin.
Specifically, we’ll be looking at how the age of “mass” – dominated by large nation-states and large corporations – is giving way to a new geopolitical order.
We’re back this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET – hope to see you there!
