The opposition to the wide proliferation of AI data centers has never been more palpable.
Public sentiment has squarely turned against the construction boom of massive facilities that often torture surrounding communities with deafening noise, cause electricity prices to spike, spew pollution, and deplete water levels in drought-prone areas.
It’s no wonder that across the country, local communities are crowding into their council meetings, pleading with representatives to oppose data center projects.
Amidst this growing bipartisan backlash, a fringe group of techno-apologists organized a self-described “pro-data center party.” The group, led by tech journalist Jonas Du and the Washington, DC-based “nonprofit talent agency” Young Voices, gathered at a “tech-bro watering hole” in DC called Pubkey over the weekend, as journalist Finn Hartnett put it in a write up for the Washingtonian.

