GoKawiilIf you’re part of the growing majority of Americans who oppose AI data centers, the US government and Big Tech have a message for you: Get over it.
The backlash against these massive AI server farms — notorious for guzzling energy and water — has been countered in recent days by aggressive public statements by President Donald Trump. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that local communities that don’t want data centers will end up “backwards and poor.” He went on to liken opposition to data centers to killing the “Golden Goose,” implying that we’re all to blame for blocking economic growth.
And billionaire tech leaders, who have been especially cozy with the current administration, are taking to the field with a massive advertising blitz to sway public opinion, especially as November’s midterm elections approach. A group called Build American AI, funded by the pro-AI political action committee Leading the Future, is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign to try to counter the tide and promote the construction of AI data centers. The campaign’s initial rollout targets key election battleground states, starting with Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Opposition to data centers isn’t just about residents facing spiking electricity and water bills, though that would certainly be reason enough after five years of steadily high inflation. There’s also an array of environmental and health concerns, as well as general ambivalence or hatred of AI technology. Grassroots efforts, such as a nationwide map of data centers and proposed projects launched by activist Erin Brockovich, have helped communities organize and stay informed, while several cities have approved bans or moratoriums on new data center projects.
The sentiment against data centers shifted so quickly and sharply this year that a newly published Annenberg Public Policy Center study finds that around two-thirds (61%) of US adults oppose new data center builds near them. And that negative sentiment is across party lines, shared by Democrats (69%), Republicans (54%) and independents (53%).
Could a powerful network of political action committees and a barrage of expensive digital ads sway public opinion? Marketing experts told CNET it’ll be incredibly difficult to put that genie back in the bottle.
The main challenge is that society is incredibly polarized on AI-related issues right now, said Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. Tech companies are “trying to create an argument that local communities are going to benefit from the data center,” but those communities are “saying, no, we don’t believe you.”
According to Lightman, campaigns that attempt to shift public opinion on data centers must build a strong case for local benefits — and especially overcome deep-seated skepticism toward tech companies and AI.
Big Tech’s backers
The Build American AI campaign is part of the super-PAC network Leading the Future, which is bankrolled and organized by a coalition of powerful Silicon Valley investors, tech executives and veteran political operatives. The PR strategy is pretty straightforward: Rebrand data centers so they’re no longer seen as local nuisances but vital economic lifelines.
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