New York Gov. Kathy Hochul understands what her constituents want, said Sara Peque\u00f1o in USA Today. The Democrat recently imposed a one-year moratorium on the construction of large AI data centers, giving state regulators breathing space to write new rules intended to limit the effect these \u201cgigantic eyesores\u201d have on power grids, water supplies, and local communities. It\u2019s the \u201cright move\u2014and a politically savvy one.\u201d While many lawmakers support data center projects, claiming they\u2019ll \u201cbring jobs and economic activity to their municipalities,\u201d voters aren\u2019t buying it. They know these buildings are noisy, generate a lot of air pollution, use up tons of water, and are causing electricity bills to skyrocket. More Democrats should follow Hochul\u2019s example, said Tressie McMillan Cottom in The New York Times. In our \u201cvirulently partisan\u201d era, \u201crage against data centers\u201d is one of the only issues that unites ordinary voters on the Left and the Right. At the grassroots level, the opposition includes eco activists, soccer moms, farmers, and hardcore MAGA types. If Democrats can harness this energy and \u201canti-establishment sentiment,\u201d they could create \u201ca political movement that wins elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
This resistance is about more than just NIMBYism<\/a>, said The Economist. A Pew survey from April found that \u201cAmericans who have merely heard of data centers are just as opposed to them as those who live within 5 miles of one.\u201d It\u2019s because of the fears of what data centers represent<\/a>: the growth of artificial intelligence that could \u201cdoom humanity by hoovering up all its resources and paving Earth with servers.\u201d Tech leaders are partly to blame for this mess, because they\u2019ve spent years warning that their AI tools will \u201cthrow most people out of work\u201d or be used to inflict \u201cmass harm.\u201d Now that the infrastructure needed to achieve their AI revolution \u201cis arriving on people\u2019s doorsteps,\u201d who can blame Americans for wanting to slow the progress?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But this is \u201cblocking development that would benefit\u201d their communities<\/a>, said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial. New York\u2019s green mandates and resistance to building new generation plants have reduced the state\u2019s electricity supply and caused prices to rise\u2014not AI data centers. Hochul also leaves out the fact that \u201cdata centers can also deliver a property tax windfall\u201d along with thousands of jobs. AI is set to be \u201cfracking all over again,\u201d said the New York Post. New York banned the energy-extraction practice \u201con the basis of bogus environmental concerns,\u201d and as a result the state lost out on \u201ctens of thousands of jobs and literally trillions in wealth\u201d that went next door to Pennsylvania. Now, billions of dollars in investment are going to AI-friendly Pennsylvania, all because \u201cNew York is banning progress.\u201d<\/p>\n The Week<\/p>\n Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n