Despite efforts to tout AI infrastructure as a boon to the American economy, as well as a home-field advantage to a country steeped in capitalistic aspiration, hawkers of this technology have failed to convince 70% of Americans that AI and its data centers are anything other than a hostile intrusion. To the public, they are monoliths that pollute the environment, drive up energy costs, strip people of their livelihoods and degrade the meaning of art. But the catch for some politicians is that supporting AI is an immensely profitable enterprise, even if the money and favors come from just a few very powerful, very rich people. Oh, what are they to do?
Some of them, like David Crowley, Wisconsin’s Democratic candidate for governor, have wisely and belatedly eschewed “turn[ing] Wisconsin into an AI and data hub . . . for the entire globe” as a talking point in favor of convincing voters that local elected boards are the vanguard of communal protection and direct democracy. Attempting to shrug off the perception of being too pro-AI, Crowley told supporters shortly after his primary win in August that “Local communities should be the end all be all when it comes down to data centers. They should be able to make the decision when it comes to data centers and if they don’t want a data center, they should not be forced to have a data center, and there’s no ands, ifs, or buts about that.”
