Six-Chart Sunday – The Bonfire of the Data Centers
6 Infographics + 1 Video (Chef Jose Andres, “Theo of Bethesda”)
Everyone wants us to lead the world in AI. But polls reflect growing opposition to the data centers that power AI computation and enable leadership.
Does data center resistance primarily reflect local development concerns (electricity prices, water use, heat, noise) or broader AI anxieties? Yes. Is the backlash organic or amplified by political opportunists and foreign competitors? You bet. Are data centers critical engines of economic growth & opportunity or the infrastructure under-girding market bubbles, income inequality and cyber risk? Indeed. Will data center politics impact U.S. elections? No… and yes.
THE STATE OF PLAY
America leads the world in data centers.
Data centers (and the compute they enable) are America’s central advantage in the global race for AI dominance.
Massive investment in data centers is powering a large share of U.S. economic growth.
To meet growing AI demand, new data centers are planned across the country…
…and around the world.
THE POLITICS & OPPOSITION
Voters don’t think of data centers or AI when asked about their top concern, nor do they rank them ahead of most other issues... But they express concerns when asked specifically about data centers.
The anti-data center movement is more Outside vs Inside (populism) than Red vs Blue (partisanship).
Public opinion towards data centers turned negative… quickly.
The number of active data-center opposition groups more than doubled in Q1 2026.
State and local government restrictions proliferated in 2026: so far 14 states have considered bans (13 failed, while NY passed but may be vetoed by the Governor). Many more states are considering tax and energy cost measures, and more than 100 local moratoriums have passed.
Hostility to data centers reflects organic local opposition, national political opportunism and foreign competitors eager to slow U.S. AI efforts and drive domestic division. For voters, local development concerns predominate… it’s the water bill, not the robots.
Concerns about data centers are not denting public enthusiasm for the technology industry.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The nation that leads in AI will dominate the 21st century, and AI leadership runs through data centers. But while data center investment & power-grid permitting reform are critically necessary, they’re not sufficient. Beyond encouraging AI innovation and investment, we also must address public safety, prioritize inclusive growth and give more citizens the tools they need to participate in the revolution. Life is about choices, disruption invites backlash and change is hard, as Morgan Housel reminds us:
VIDEO
After months of lobbying by Amy, I finally read Theo of Golden last week. Do yourself a favor, read it — it’s that good. It also reminded me of another humble, creative genius from the Iberian Peninsula… swap Theo’s canvas for a dinner plate and trade individual kindnesses for life-saving initiatives at global scale… and you get Chef Jose Andres, with whom I spoke last year:
It is a predicament. Data centers are an eyesore and, at least in Virginia, have been built in densely populated suburbs because of their easy access to the electric grid. Local officials also have not kept their promises to lower property taxes as the revenue from the data centers started flowing - instead, they spent it on their pet projects and favored constituencies. However, we obviously need the data-processing power these centers provide, both to generate economic growth and to stay ahead of the Chinese in artificial intelligence. We may not know exactly where AI is headed, but I sure do not want the Chinese adopting systems that can outsmart and outmaneuver American AI systems.
To solve the problem, we need better location planning and data centers that can generate their own power (like Meta's efforts to build mini-nuclear power plants). Elon Musk's idea of putting these data centers in space, where they can be powered by solar energy (which is far more abundant without passing through our atmosphere), is an example of the kind of thinking we need. Another problem, probably not as far away as we might imagine, is that future advances in memory storage are likely to render current data centers obsolete, leaving us with massive, useless buildings all over the place. Perhaps that is a problem for another day (indoor golf courses, anyone?). The immediate answer is more intelligent planning of data center locations. And that may require removing decision-making authority from local politicians who have never seen the level of political contributions that advocates of these centers bring to the table.
Data center opponents in the US need to know who they're really aligned with. Local and state governments are welcome and encouraged to revisit their policies, but here in Loudoun County, where I live, they provide 40% of our county revenue and have reduced my property tax rates considerably. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/business/china-russia-ai-data-centers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xFA.OJvv.K0xrkpW0cBy5&smid=url-share