Americans' Anger Against AI Data Centers Is Boiling Over

"A paltry 4 percent of Americans said data centers were "mostly good" for the environment, compared to 39 percent who said the opposite. Meanwhile, only 6 percent believed data centers have positive effects on their neighbors' quality of life and home energy cost, versus 30 percent and 38 percent who said they were "mostly bad," respectively."

"The respondents who were most familiar with data centers were more likely to have roundly negative attitudes about them. For example, about two-thirds of participants who heard "a lot" about data centers said they're mostly bad for energy prices, compared to 42 percent who only know "a little.""

"Young people are more likely to have negative views than older ones. For example, 54 percent of adults under 30 had mostly negative attitudes toward data centers' impact on the environment, versus 26 percent of adults 65 and up."

Public opinion on data centers is overwhelmingly negative according to a Pew Research Center survey. Only 4 percent of Americans believe data centers are mostly good for the environment, while 39 percent view them negatively. Similarly, just 6 percent think data centers positively affect neighbors' quality of life and home energy costs, compared to 30 percent and 38 percent who see them as mostly bad. Notably, people more familiar with data centers hold even more negative views—two-thirds of those hearing "a lot" about them say they harm energy prices versus 42 percent with limited knowledge. Younger Americans under 30 are significantly more opposed than those 65 and older, with 54 percent expressing negative environmental concerns. This widespread opposition has prompted Senator Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation halting new data center construction.

Read at Futurism