The AI industry has been pouring untold resources into building out enormous data centers across the world. <\/p>\n
The plants are immensely resource-hungry, sucking up huge amounts of fresh water<\/a> to cool ripping-hot computer hardware. They\u2019re turning into a massive strain<\/a> on the electric grid, forcing some utility operators to enact rolling blackouts<\/a> during heat waves and cold weather.<\/p>\n The issue reached a fever pitch after the Washington Post reported<\/a> that a recent rise in customer energy bills<\/a> was attributable to the enormous and growing power demands of AI data centers. <\/p>\n In short, it\u2019s no wonder that small towns across the nation are coordinating efforts<\/a> to keep data centers out \u2014 a PR disaster tarnishing a major push by AI companies to scale up their expansive operations.<\/p>\n And it seems like Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s Meta, which has committed to spend $600 billion on AI data centers<\/a>, is painfully aware of the pushback. As the New York Times reports<\/a>, the company has already spent $6 million on TV ads to convince Americans that data centers aren\u2019t that bad. As one \u201cfolksy\u201d ad showing off a new data center in Altoona, Iowa, argued, \u201cwe\u2019re bringing jobs here.\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just Meta trying to distract the public from all of the glaring downsides of data centers propping up across the country. Amazon is running its own similar ad campaign<\/a> in Virginia, for instance, admonishing viewers that the facilities help \u201cconnect us to the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Financial Times, data center operators are \u201cplanning to go on the offensive with a lobbying blitz\u201d as well, trying to get ahead of the growing public backlash. One data center executive told the FT that lobbying spending is a flash in the pan compared to the tens of billions being spent on infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to spend tens of billions of dollars this year on capital projects, we probably should spend tens of millions of dollars on messaging,\u201d they argued.<\/p>\n Yet the growing backlash is already hampering construction efforts. Over two dozen projects have already been blocked or delayed this month alone, according to research firm MacroEdge<\/a>, compared to just 25 total<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n In short, it\u2019s not surprising to see tech giants trying to control the narrative by pouring millions of dollars into changing the public\u2019s opinion about the facilities.<\/p>\n As marketing analysts told the NYT, Meta\u2019s efforts are likely not just aimed at residents. They\u2019re intended to influence lawmakers and policymakers, ensuring that the aggressive nationwide push to build out AI infrastructure won\u2019t become an issue in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n Rising energy bills have already turned out to be a contentious topic, particularly in the greater context of rising costs of living<\/a>, with senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MA) introducing a bill<\/a> earlier this month to regulate data center energy use.<\/p>\n Even president Donald Trump, who has been a major proponent of AI, argued that Big Tech must \u201cpay their own way,\u201d in a recent post on Truth Social<\/a>, suggesting the topic isn\u2019t entirely divided by party lines. Republican lawmakers have also called for more AI regulation and a more careful approach to data center buildouts, as NPR reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other politicians worry about overindexing on AI infrastructure buildouts, which could end badly in the long term if the AI sector were to crash, as many experts have warned<\/a> it could.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I very much worry about with this ad campaign is localities committing to this industry and then saying in ten years, \u2018What have we done to ourselves,’\u201d Diane Papan, a Democratic state assemblywoman in California, told NYT.<\/p>\n