A strong majority of Americans oppose AI data centers being constructed in their local area, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Seven in 10 Americans are opposed to data centers for AI in their area, including 48 percent who said they are “strongly opposed.” Meanwhile, a mere seven percent answered that they are strongly in favor of local AI data centers, Gallup polling shows.
The survey was conducted from March 2 to 18, and makes for the first time Gallup has conducted a poll regarding data center construction. The analytics company explained that the data centers it asked about “house computing equipment that helps power AI technology used by businesses, universities, and other institutions.”
“The centers cover large areas of land, require extensive amounts of electricity to operate, and need substantial water to cool the equipment, raising concerns about their impact on the environment and local electric bills,” Gallup added.
The same poll also found that 53 percent of Americans are against building a nuclear energy plant in their area, a figure far less than the 71 percent who said they are opposed to the AI data center being locally constructed.
Gallup noted that the opposition is connected to environmental and quality-of-life concerns, explaining that 46 percent of respondents said they worry “a great deal” about AI data centers’ impact on the environment, while 24 percent answered “a fair amount.”
The few who favor AI data centers being built in their area, meanwhile, mainly cited the potential economic benefits, Gallup found in a follow-up survey conducted in April.
In addition to opponents’ concern for the environment, half cited data centers’ excessive use of resources, including 18 percent noting their use of water and energy, with 16 percent specifically mentioning a concern of pollution, including noise, air, and water pollution.
Roughly one in five opponents are also worried about the impact the centers would have on local quality of life, such as increasing the population and traffic in their area.
Others cited concerns of potential negative economic consequences, like a rise in utility bills and cost-of-living, as well as the cost of building the data centers, as it could involve taxpayer money, Gallup reported.
“Most of the remaining opposition stems from general or specific concerns about artificial intelligence,” the analytics company added.
Two-thirds of those in favor of the data centers have the opposite expectation, citing potential economic benefits — with 55 percent mentioning more job opportunities — while others noted economic benefits, including a higher tax revenue and housing and infrastructure development.
The poll also found that a majority of Democrats “strongly oppose” building AI data centers in their area at 56 percent, while 39 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of independents answered the same.
As for other demographics, 55 percent of women and 43 percent of men had strong opposition, while “there are no meaningful differences in total opposition by age, race, education, income, or urbanicity,” Gallup reported.
While AI data centers have already been constructed in some areas, most Americans have seemingly adopting a “not in my backyard” attitude toward them, the analytics company said.
“Overcoming this opposition stands as a major hurdle in the expansion of AI computing,” Gallup added. “The intensity of opposition means that proposed data centers are likely to spur grassroots activism from local residents as well as legal challenges.”
Gallup further predicted that the poll results suggest AI infrastructure “could become an important campaign issue in local and state elections this year,” adding that politicians in favor of data center construction “are likely taking a politically risky stance.”
AI data centers are an increasingly divisive topic, especially for Americans who live in areas with planned AI infrastructure projects. Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall has written his instant bestseller Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI to serve as the definitive guide on how the MAGA movement can create positions on AI that benefit humanity without handing control of our nation to the leftists of Silicon Valley or allowing the Chinese to take over the world.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.