Big Tech should sell America on AI data centers, not the other way around

Drew Bond writes in The Hill that if the United States wants to win the global AI race, Big Tech must earn public support for data centers by ensuring they deliver clear local benefits on jobs, taxes, energy, and water.

AI data centers are essential to winning the global AI race — but most communities don’t want them in their backyards. It’s easy to see why. These facilities are enormous, resource-intensive and often difficult for communities to digest.

Yet these anxieties, while real, cannot become a pretext for retreat. If the U.S. wants to win the AI race — economically, militarily and for national prosperity — we must build public support for data centers.

The broader public feels this tension keenly. Nationwide surveys show a striking paradox: While 93 percent of Americans agree that AI data centers are vital to U.S. competitiveness, a strong majority would rather not have them near their community. They are concerned about energy, water and land use even as they recognize the strategic stakes. Only about 9 percent of respondents believe the local economic benefits clearly outweigh the perceived drawbacks, while large shares express concern about water and energy consumption.

Read more in The Hill here.