The Data Center Panic and U.S. Decline
The political backlash started on the left, and Bernie Sanders now wants a nationwide halt to new data centers. But Democrats in Senate races across the country are signing up for some version of a slowdown. In Ohio Sherrod Brown is making the issue the center of his comeback bid against appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted.
Even politicians who have supported data centers are turning. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker once courted data centers but now has turned them a cold shoulder. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has a huge lead in his re-election campaign, this month issued an executive order restricting their development.
Republicans are also getting in on the act. GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany is running ads in Wisconsin in his campaign for Governor calling his opponent “Data Center David Crowley.” “Our lakes run dry, family farms paved over,” says the fear-mongering spot.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in August paused new construction pending the completion of a statewide audit, citing concerns about data center power and water use. He blamed AI firms: “They basically dug their own grave for the problem that’s been caused for them and that’s why they got the backlash they deserve.”
It’s true the AI industry has hurt its own cause by fueling speculative anxiety about mass unemployment. AI developers have also failed to explain how data centers benefit local communities. But the larger failure has been the lack of political leadership in explaining the technological and economic transition now underway and how to address it.
