The big split driving the tricky politics of AI data centers

The tech industry is facing fierce local backlash to data center projects around the country. But a new poll suggests national opinion is still up for grabs. Cities from Madison, Wisconsin, to Chandler, Arizona, are rejecting new data centers—the hulking, server-packed complexes that make up the backbone of the booming artificial intelligence industry—citing everything from rising electricity costs to depleted water tables and air pollution. Nationally, however, the tech giants behind the rapid rollout of data centers have a window to shape public opinion despite opposition they’re seeing on the local level, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll. The survey, conducted by London-based independent polling company Public First, found that most voters are blasé—even mildly positive—about the possibility of having a data center in their area, associating them with new jobs and other economic benefits.