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Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence (AI) has become part of everyday life for most Americans. According to a recent YouGov survey, 81% of U.S. adults have used some form of AI, including chatbots, recommendation systems, voice assistants and AI agents. And nearly half (48%) are using AI at least once a week.
YouGov also found that 18% of Americans use AI every day, including 25% of millennials. A different YouGov survey revealed that 11% of Americans use AI tools multiple times a day, 10% use them daily and another 21% use them at least once a week.
As more Americans use AI for a wide range of tasks, many of them don’t understand the raw computing power required to train and run large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
These and other systems rely on massive networks of servers housed in data centers that are springing up all over the country. By 2030, JLL expects global data center capacity to nearly double to 200 gigawatts, up from about 103 gigawatts last year. It credits demand for AI and hyperscale cloud (i.e., those cloud-computing operations run by companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google) with driving much of that growth.
70% Oppose the Plans
Americans may have embraced chatbots and other AI-driven tools, but the last thing most of them want is a new data center in their backyard. That opposition has turned into a modern-day version of the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) mindset that took hold in the 1970s and 1980s, when communities acknowledged the need for power plants, waste facilities and other major infrastructure but fought to keep them away from their own homes.
The U.S. currently has more than 3,000 operational data centers. That number is expected to grow substantially in the years ahead, with more than 1,500 new data centers currently in various stages of development, according to Pew Research Center. Of these facilities,
- 67% of planned data centers are in rural areas.
- 87% of existing data centers are in urban ones.
- 39% of planned data centers are in counties that currently don’t have any.
Pew says most of the planned construction of U.S. data centers will take place in the South and Midwest. Three-quarters of all planned data centers will be built in these two regions, with the South alone accounting for nearly half of them (48%).
According to a recent Gallup survey focused specifically on AI-based data centers, 70% of people oppose constructing such data centers in their local area. And nearly half (48%) are “strongly opposed” to these projects. It’s the first time Gallup has polled Americans about data center construction, a topic that local residents in many parts of the country have been speaking up about.
“These data centers house computing equipment that helps power AI technology used by businesses, universities and other institutions,” Gallup reports. “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.”
Why Communities Are Pushing Back
Gallup’s survey also included some open-ended questions meant to dig deeper into the issue. It says about half of the detractors mention data centers’ excessive use of resources, with 18% each citing water and energy use as the biggest issue. Sixteen percent cited related pollution concerns, including noise, air and water pollution.
About one in five opponents is worried about the impact on local quality of life, including increased population, increased traffic and preferring that the land be used for other purposes. “A similar share mentions potentially negative economic consequences,” Gallup says, “including higher utility bills, cost-of-living increases, and the cost of building the data centers (which could involve the use of taxpayer funds).”
