Americans turn against new AI data centres
Opinion polling shows strong opposition to data centres across almost all political groups.
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A majority of Americans do not want a new artificial-intelligence data centre in their local area. According to the researchers, the main objections concern natural resources, land use and costs.
The debate over the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has become more explicitly political since the US election. According to a poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 65 per cent of respondents say they oppose the construction of an AI data centre in their community. Eleven per cent support such a project and 24 per cent have no clear preference.
The opposition cuts across political divisions. In the same poll, 76 per cent of Democrats oppose the arrival of a data centre in their local area, compared with 52 per cent of Republicans. Among independent voters, 67 per cent are opposed. The researchers surveyed 1,000 Americans; the publication dates from August 2026.
A separate poll by ABC News, The Washington Post and Ipsos produces a similar picture. It found that 81 per cent of Democrats, 76 per cent of independent voters and 58 per cent of Republicans oppose a data centre in their community. The survey was conducted from 9 to 13 October among 2,545 adults, with a reported margin of error of two percentage points.
According to the UMass researchers, the objections are usually local. In 28 per cent of open-ended responses, respondents referred to environmental damage or the use of natural resources, 15 per cent to land use and disruption, and 10 per cent to higher energy bills or other costs. The researchers therefore warn that opposition to a data centre is not automatically the same as opposition to generative AI as a technology.
At the same time, the sector’s economic significance is growing. The Associated Press reported that US spending on data-centre construction had risen by 80.6 per cent in one year, while spending on homes, schools, factories and offices fell. That figure concerns construction spending and does not indicate how many new jobs or how much additional productivity the centres generate.
This creates a distributional question for policymakers. Data centres can attract investment, jobs and strategic AI capacity, but they also consume electricity, water and scarce land. The polls measure preferences, not a referendum on individual projects. For the Dutch debate, the key issue is which conditions governments impose on energy use, grid connections, water consumption and local participation.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- In the UMass poll, 65 per cent oppose a local AI data centre and 11 per cent support one.
- In the UMass poll, a majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans are opposed.
- The researchers cite environmental effects, land use, local disruption and costs as the main reasons for opposition.
- Supporters cite jobs, local economic development and American competitiveness.
Left
Arguments A left-wing approach will stress that companies should not be allowed to impose all the costs of energy, water and land use on local residents and public services.
Values Environmental protection, public participation and a fair distribution of benefits and burdens.
Consequences Stricter permits and conditions may delay projects, but can also limit local disruption and public costs.
Centre
Arguments The institutional approach will seek conditions under which data centres can be built, such as grid capacity, transparent environmental impacts, local participation and compensation.
Values Combining innovation with feasibility, legal certainty and a balanced assessment of interests.
Consequences Conditional approval can make investment possible, but requires oversight and clear, measurable standards.
Right
Arguments A right-wing approach will point to the strategic importance of AI, economic growth and competition with China, and warn that local blockages could weaken the United States technologically.
Values Economic freedom, national security and international competitiveness.
Consequences Faster permitting can attract investment, but increases the risk that local concerns about infrastructure and the living environment will be insufficiently addressed.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The percentages and survey periods are taken from the UMass and ABC/Ipsos publications. The construction figure is separately attributed to the Associated Press and is not presented as a measure of jobs or productivity.
- confirmed Sixty-five per cent oppose the construction of a local AI data centre and 11 per cent support it. — UMass publishes these percentages for a sample of 1,000 respondents. source
- confirmed Opposition stands at 76 per cent among Democrats, 67 per cent among independents and 52 per cent among Republicans. — This breakdown appears in the UMass results. source
- confirmed The ABC/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found 81 per cent opposition among Democrats, 76 per cent among independents and 58 per cent among Republicans. — ABC News publishes these figures and the survey period. source
- confirmed Spending on data centres rose by 80.6 per cent in one year. — The Associated Press attributes this to an analysis by Econvitals based on construction spending. source
- confirmed The main objections concern natural resources, land use and costs. — UMass reports 28, 15 and 10 per cent respectively in open-ended responses. source
Editor's note
The two polls present a consistent picture of local opposition, but do not measure support for or opposition to one specific project. The 80.6 per cent construction figure concerns spending, not jobs or productivity.Sources
- Just 1 in 9 Americans Support AI Data Center Construction in their Local Communities — University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Most Americans say AI is bad for society, oppose more data centers — ABC News
- Trump and Democrats now face voters' demand to deliver economic relief — Associated Press
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „kunstmatige intelligentie”
- FD — „kunstmatige intelligentie”
- Trouw — „kunstmatige intelligentie”