Cal Newport has a good piece from yesterday talking about the shift in AI ( really LLMs ) messaging that is going on right. I would say we should add to Mr. Newport's list of reasons why the backlash against datacenters. You can't run around telling people your product is going to take their jobs and ruin their lives without them eventually going "oh hell no" and opposing anything you want to do.
It looks (to me) highly unlikely that AI is going to transform Humanity's future to anything like the extent we have very good reason to fear!?
No new, enormous, energy guzzling, Data Centers, destroying our landscapes = more chance for us very fallible humans to go on, more or less, governing ourselves rather than those super-wealthy Tech giants!
It is baffling that these people are protesting. Don't they have soap operas to keep up on? I really don't know. In Idaho we have some going in. I have not heard about any protest. The DCs are 10 miles out in the desert. Not much to mess up. And we have hydro power.
It sounds like you are against Data centers. Am I misreading you?
I too have no axe to grind with data centers. I think if anything they're the best development possible. Very little need for any services and paying high property taxes. Win-win.
That said, not to be rude, if you don't think Idaho has had protest against data centers you haven't been paying attention to the news. There are have been protests, there have been moritoriums and the Idaho legislature - IIRC - even passed new regulations for data centers last year.
And there we have it. The ol "did I say that"? Naw, I didn't really use the words I used, they had a different meaning. You're killing me smalls. The North End pachouli crowd on their own can't get new legislation in Idaho enacted. If they could, the state would be out Califonia'ing Cali.
Yes, there is not near enough of them to fight the 70% conservative voters. California and Seattle conservatives are moving here in big numbers. It is quite the place.
Since I published this piece, people I know and respect have been pointing out the similarities between the opposition to DCs and the opposition to hydraulic fracturing.
Yes, there are some some similar themes. And yes, some of the NGOs like Sierra Club are involved in some of the anti-DC efforts. But by and large, the e-NGOs trying to jump in front of the parade and act like they are leading.
As I reported a few weeks ago, a March Quinnipiac poll found that 65% of Americans oppose DCs in their communities. The staunchest opposition was among Democratic voters, with 78% opposed, while 66% of Independents and 56% of Republicans were opposed. Among those who oppose data centers, 72% cited electricity costs, 64% were concerned about water usage, and 41% cited noise. In addition, the same Quinnipiac poll found 70% believe AI will lead to fewer job opportunities, and 55% believe AI will “do more harm than good” in their day-to-day lives.
Those are stout numbers and they support my belief that the opposition to DCs is part of a broad cultural backlash against Big Tech.
While I agree that we need to find appropriate regulation to mitigate the negative impacts of AI data centers - such as providing their own power and not draw from the grid, make the most out of closed loop water use, proper siting where environmental impacts can be minimized among other things, at least AI data centers do provide some benefit whereas industrial wind, solar and batteries provide only negative consequences - there is nothing good about them. Here is a post from that gives some perspective on AI data centers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmeliaIsland/permalink/26509345152040367/
The public has zero reason to trust Big Tech and increasingly obvious reasons to hate and resent them.
Big Tech has spent 30 years exporting our jobs to other nations and when that was inconvenient, rigging the legal system in the USA to import millions of foreigners to replace US workers and keep wages depressed.
These are the organizations that will sculpt how AI behaves and the data that it outputs. Why should we trust them one iota?
The starting wage for an excellent graduate in EE is the same today as it was in 2000. About a 50% decrease in real terms. What kind of shortage causes a decrease in price? Yet, Big Tech has lied and lied and lied claiming non existent shortages in STEM workers for the last 30 years.
This replacement has reached the point now, that even new grads in STEM can no longer find jobs, because Big Tech has a surfeit of low cost foreigners to hire within the USA.
Folks are coming to realize that Big Tech lied about STEM worker shortages for the last 30 years, and not just a little bit.
These are the people we should trust with the mechanisms that will inexorably shape and dominate our futures?
The people driving AI are the same people who have demonstrated a persistent, unremitting and unrepentant pursuit of a feudal structure for society. We should trust them with a tool that will reshape our economy to their vision?
I don't trust public opinion. It is usually skewed by propaganda one way or another. This could be a propaganda blitz by countries who don't want us to dominate AI.
I encourage people to be skeptical and mindful of propaganda. I hope you would consider that you believe that any of the data centers are needed to dominate AI is in itself a result of some ( crazy ) propoganda.
It's basic computer science. There are plenty of people saying that. In fact, so many are saying it that Gemini will share it when you ask.
For example
"
Local LLM vs. Claude in 2026Coding & Reasoning:
Top-tier local models (like GLM-5 or Qwen3-Coder) are approaching the performance of Claude Sonnet 4.6, with Qwen3-Coder models striking a good balance between speed and competence.The "Gap": For highly intricate multi-file coding or nuanced logical reasoning, Claude still holds an edge in reliability, whereas local models might require more prompt engineering or re-running.Consistency: Local models often provide better efficiency and lower latency, but they can suffer from higher inconsistency across runs compared to the stable performance of frontier cloud models.
The real question is where is the power for these hyperscalers going to come from? Power in Texas is a managed by ERCOT. Every month they publish a "MORA Report" (Monthly Outlook for Resources Adequacy). These reports show that on any given day ERCOT can deliver 80-100 GW of power.
However, they have received large interconnection requests for an additional 238 GW of power, which is largely driven by hyperscalers. It is simply not possible to deliver that amount of power in any reasonable time frame, whether behind or ahead of the meter. We do not have either the generation capacity or the grid. Meta is currently building a data center in Louisiana that will require the electricity equivalent of five million homes. It won't be public opposition to data centers that will kill them, it will be lack of power. I do not care whether you are talking about SMR's natural gas, coal, or AP1000 reactors. I also don't care whether you are talking behind or in front of the meter. You cannot add that much capacity quickly.
My GEV stock is doing great. There have a 100 GW backlog for gas turbines. They can only build around 10 GW of turbines per year. So we are looking ten years out to satisfy existing orders assuming no plant expansion. Now add in the midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver that gas, particularly in the NE where pipelines are almost impossible to permit. Nuclear is the long-term answer but nuclear plants (including SMR's) take years to permit, and light-water reactors take years to build.
That leaves coal. Biden famously told coal miners to "learn to code" Wouldn't be ironic if a future president told coders displaced by AI to "learn to mine" 😁😁😁
Good point. Availability of power is a key bottleneck in the buildout. There are also labor constraints (electricians, pipe fitters, welders) and supply chain issues. The lack of availability of gas turbines is leading to more deployment of big recips. Wärtsilä just announced a 790 MW project in TX. https://inspenet.com/en/news/wartsila-powers-data-centers-in-texas-with-790-mw-for-ai/
The US has ample land space for these data centers in areas where they won't encroach on existing land use. It's about location, location, location. The energy requirements should be provided by a microgrid powered by small nuclear reactors, and funded by tech company, rather than imposing a burden on existing grid capabilities. That would seem to be the logical solution.
Agree. Location is key. As for SMRs, they are not going to play a role in AI anytime soon. AI is a nat gas story. Further, to your point, a lot of these DCs are going to use BTM generation because they don't have any other choice.
And when nuclear does become available, SMRs do not make sense for data centers unless they are severely limited in capital availability.
Projections put SMRs' unit cost of electricity as much hire than the unit cost from traditional large scale reactors. If you're going to need a GW+, just build an efficient, affordable GW+ reactor and forget about the shiny new distraction that is expensive SMRs.
I happened to be in Utah for my son's graduation from Tuesday to Saturday. My facebook feed was inundated with anti-data center/Box Elder project posts. I mean about 20% of the feed. I pretty much guarantee most of the protestors didn't live in the Box Elder area. The project itself is powered by natural gas and water use is probably going to be either recycled or closed system water. There is a lot that isn't known about the project except that it was heavily encouraged by the governor and state government. Other data center projects in the area are more interesting with geo-thermal power, recycled water (taking non-potable water and producing potable water). Possibly net positive for the community in both power and potable water. Some resistance on possible seismic activity from the fracking like geo-thermal technology.
The technical details may all be fine, but there is a growing realization amongst the populace that the leaders of Big Tech deserve their contempt and hatred.
Yet "the populace" continue to use these products and services which make the "leaders" wealthy and employ an increasing amount of the population...................I understand NIMBY folks, but these national level activist organization that organizes itself using the same social media products that they rail about is actually kinda of funny. One wonders what they are really all about......................
People are finally sick and tired of watching farms and forest disappear while having their homes surrounded by solar farms, wind farms, Chinese battery plants, truck terminals, train terminals, transportation centers, and blocks-long white warehouses that employ almost no one. And now we have these electricity sucking monster data centers coming. I guess We the People are all sick and tired of being told to "shove it" while living our lives surrounded by sheer ugliness everywhere one looks.
I use AI. I am not opposed to DCs. I'm a reporter. The meeting on Monday was extraordinary. That's why I am reporting on it.
One other point: Yes, the opposition to DCs is real and growing. I've documented >70 rejections this year. But as I have also noted recently, there are >700 DCs now under construction in the US.
Agree with Dave. Majority of the crowd was from Salt Lake City (60 miles away) No Kings crowd. I am not diminishing local opposition, but this has also brought in the protest-everything crowd from hyper-blue SLC.
Cal Newport has a good piece from yesterday talking about the shift in AI ( really LLMs ) messaging that is going on right. I would say we should add to Mr. Newport's list of reasons why the backlash against datacenters. You can't run around telling people your product is going to take their jobs and ruin their lives without them eventually going "oh hell no" and opposing anything you want to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neqxcy2BdvU
Thanks Robert!
It looks (to me) highly unlikely that AI is going to transform Humanity's future to anything like the extent we have very good reason to fear!?
No new, enormous, energy guzzling, Data Centers, destroying our landscapes = more chance for us very fallible humans to go on, more or less, governing ourselves rather than those super-wealthy Tech giants!
Best wishes!
Hugh
Thanks.
Ai will eventually transform our lives over time. But no, these LLMs liek ChatGPT will not being doing anything of the sort.
It is baffling that these people are protesting. Don't they have soap operas to keep up on? I really don't know. In Idaho we have some going in. I have not heard about any protest. The DCs are 10 miles out in the desert. Not much to mess up. And we have hydro power.
It sounds like you are against Data centers. Am I misreading you?
I too have no axe to grind with data centers. I think if anything they're the best development possible. Very little need for any services and paying high property taxes. Win-win.
That said, not to be rude, if you don't think Idaho has had protest against data centers you haven't been paying attention to the news. There are have been protests, there have been moritoriums and the Idaho legislature - IIRC - even passed new regulations for data centers last year.
That’s not rude. I just don’t think it is a big deal. Just the Pachouli oil crowd from the North End?
And there we have it. The ol "did I say that"? Naw, I didn't really use the words I used, they had a different meaning. You're killing me smalls. The North End pachouli crowd on their own can't get new legislation in Idaho enacted. If they could, the state would be out Califonia'ing Cali.
Yes, there is not near enough of them to fight the 70% conservative voters. California and Seattle conservatives are moving here in big numbers. It is quite the place.
I agree that proper siting is the issue.
Yes, you are misreading me. I use AI every day. It's incredibly powerful and getting better all the time.
I'm not opposed to DCs. I am reporting on the backlash and will continue to do so.
Since I published this piece, people I know and respect have been pointing out the similarities between the opposition to DCs and the opposition to hydraulic fracturing.
Yes, there are some some similar themes. And yes, some of the NGOs like Sierra Club are involved in some of the anti-DC efforts. But by and large, the e-NGOs trying to jump in front of the parade and act like they are leading.
As I reported a few weeks ago, a March Quinnipiac poll found that 65% of Americans oppose DCs in their communities. The staunchest opposition was among Democratic voters, with 78% opposed, while 66% of Independents and 56% of Republicans were opposed. Among those who oppose data centers, 72% cited electricity costs, 64% were concerned about water usage, and 41% cited noise. In addition, the same Quinnipiac poll found 70% believe AI will lead to fewer job opportunities, and 55% believe AI will “do more harm than good” in their day-to-day lives.
Those are stout numbers and they support my belief that the opposition to DCs is part of a broad cultural backlash against Big Tech.
While I agree that we need to find appropriate regulation to mitigate the negative impacts of AI data centers - such as providing their own power and not draw from the grid, make the most out of closed loop water use, proper siting where environmental impacts can be minimized among other things, at least AI data centers do provide some benefit whereas industrial wind, solar and batteries provide only negative consequences - there is nothing good about them. Here is a post from that gives some perspective on AI data centers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmeliaIsland/permalink/26509345152040367/
The Jupiter Project in Doña Ana County New Mexico had significant opposition too, but the Commissioner approved it anyway. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/podcast-how-a-secretive-new-mexico-data-center-deal-came-together-and-what-it-will-mean-for-el-paso/ar-AA22xApK?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Absolutely visionary, Robert.
The public has zero reason to trust Big Tech and increasingly obvious reasons to hate and resent them.
Big Tech has spent 30 years exporting our jobs to other nations and when that was inconvenient, rigging the legal system in the USA to import millions of foreigners to replace US workers and keep wages depressed.
These are the organizations that will sculpt how AI behaves and the data that it outputs. Why should we trust them one iota?
The starting wage for an excellent graduate in EE is the same today as it was in 2000. About a 50% decrease in real terms. What kind of shortage causes a decrease in price? Yet, Big Tech has lied and lied and lied claiming non existent shortages in STEM workers for the last 30 years.
This replacement has reached the point now, that even new grads in STEM can no longer find jobs, because Big Tech has a surfeit of low cost foreigners to hire within the USA.
Folks are coming to realize that Big Tech lied about STEM worker shortages for the last 30 years, and not just a little bit.
These are the people we should trust with the mechanisms that will inexorably shape and dominate our futures?
The people driving AI are the same people who have demonstrated a persistent, unremitting and unrepentant pursuit of a feudal structure for society. We should trust them with a tool that will reshape our economy to their vision?
Good points. As I have reported many times, a lot of the opposition to DCs is coming from the public's distrust or even hatred of Big Tech.
I don't trust public opinion. It is usually skewed by propaganda one way or another. This could be a propaganda blitz by countries who don't want us to dominate AI.
I encourage people to be skeptical and mindful of propaganda. I hope you would consider that you believe that any of the data centers are needed to dominate AI is in itself a result of some ( crazy ) propoganda.
Why would you say that? That is not what anyone else has concluded.
It's basic computer science. There are plenty of people saying that. In fact, so many are saying it that Gemini will share it when you ask.
For example
"
Local LLM vs. Claude in 2026Coding & Reasoning:
Top-tier local models (like GLM-5 or Qwen3-Coder) are approaching the performance of Claude Sonnet 4.6, with Qwen3-Coder models striking a good balance between speed and competence.The "Gap": For highly intricate multi-file coding or nuanced logical reasoning, Claude still holds an edge in reliability, whereas local models might require more prompt engineering or re-running.Consistency: Local models often provide better efficiency and lower latency, but they can suffer from higher inconsistency across runs compared to the stable performance of frontier cloud models.
"
The real question is where is the power for these hyperscalers going to come from? Power in Texas is a managed by ERCOT. Every month they publish a "MORA Report" (Monthly Outlook for Resources Adequacy). These reports show that on any given day ERCOT can deliver 80-100 GW of power.
https://www.ercot.com/gridinfo/resource
However, they have received large interconnection requests for an additional 238 GW of power, which is largely driven by hyperscalers. It is simply not possible to deliver that amount of power in any reasonable time frame, whether behind or ahead of the meter. We do not have either the generation capacity or the grid. Meta is currently building a data center in Louisiana that will require the electricity equivalent of five million homes. It won't be public opposition to data centers that will kill them, it will be lack of power. I do not care whether you are talking about SMR's natural gas, coal, or AP1000 reactors. I also don't care whether you are talking behind or in front of the meter. You cannot add that much capacity quickly.
https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2026/03/12/March-TAC-Report.pdf
My GEV stock is doing great. There have a 100 GW backlog for gas turbines. They can only build around 10 GW of turbines per year. So we are looking ten years out to satisfy existing orders assuming no plant expansion. Now add in the midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver that gas, particularly in the NE where pipelines are almost impossible to permit. Nuclear is the long-term answer but nuclear plants (including SMR's) take years to permit, and light-water reactors take years to build.
That leaves coal. Biden famously told coal miners to "learn to code" Wouldn't be ironic if a future president told coders displaced by AI to "learn to mine" 😁😁😁
Good point. Availability of power is a key bottleneck in the buildout. There are also labor constraints (electricians, pipe fitters, welders) and supply chain issues. The lack of availability of gas turbines is leading to more deployment of big recips. Wärtsilä just announced a 790 MW project in TX. https://inspenet.com/en/news/wartsila-powers-data-centers-in-texas-with-790-mw-for-ai/
The US has ample land space for these data centers in areas where they won't encroach on existing land use. It's about location, location, location. The energy requirements should be provided by a microgrid powered by small nuclear reactors, and funded by tech company, rather than imposing a burden on existing grid capabilities. That would seem to be the logical solution.
Agree. Location is key. As for SMRs, they are not going to play a role in AI anytime soon. AI is a nat gas story. Further, to your point, a lot of these DCs are going to use BTM generation because they don't have any other choice.
And when nuclear does become available, SMRs do not make sense for data centers unless they are severely limited in capital availability.
Projections put SMRs' unit cost of electricity as much hire than the unit cost from traditional large scale reactors. If you're going to need a GW+, just build an efficient, affordable GW+ reactor and forget about the shiny new distraction that is expensive SMRs.
I happened to be in Utah for my son's graduation from Tuesday to Saturday. My facebook feed was inundated with anti-data center/Box Elder project posts. I mean about 20% of the feed. I pretty much guarantee most of the protestors didn't live in the Box Elder area. The project itself is powered by natural gas and water use is probably going to be either recycled or closed system water. There is a lot that isn't known about the project except that it was heavily encouraged by the governor and state government. Other data center projects in the area are more interesting with geo-thermal power, recycled water (taking non-potable water and producing potable water). Possibly net positive for the community in both power and potable water. Some resistance on possible seismic activity from the fracking like geo-thermal technology.
The technical details may all be fine, but there is a growing realization amongst the populace that the leaders of Big Tech deserve their contempt and hatred.
Yet "the populace" continue to use these products and services which make the "leaders" wealthy and employ an increasing amount of the population...................I understand NIMBY folks, but these national level activist organization that organizes itself using the same social media products that they rail about is actually kinda of funny. One wonders what they are really all about......................
People are sadly short sighted when offered convenience of use.
People are finally sick and tired of watching farms and forest disappear while having their homes surrounded by solar farms, wind farms, Chinese battery plants, truck terminals, train terminals, transportation centers, and blocks-long white warehouses that employ almost no one. And now we have these electricity sucking monster data centers coming. I guess We the People are all sick and tired of being told to "shove it" while living our lives surrounded by sheer ugliness everywhere one looks.
Most of them are on land that no one inhabits. At least in the west.
No farms or forests in the area of Box Elder.
Robert, we need data centers. Please offer solutions not just amplifying the news.
I use AI. I am not opposed to DCs. I'm a reporter. The meeting on Monday was extraordinary. That's why I am reporting on it.
One other point: Yes, the opposition to DCs is real and growing. I've documented >70 rejections this year. But as I have also noted recently, there are >700 DCs now under construction in the US.
Agree with Dave. Majority of the crowd was from Salt Lake City (60 miles away) No Kings crowd. I am not diminishing local opposition, but this has also brought in the protest-everything crowd from hyper-blue SLC.
Yes, organized resistance that is more national in scope than local like the solar and wind resistance.
Robert, you were way way ahead of the curve on this issue. Great job!!
Thanks, Bill.