Big Tech: Voter AI Backlash Is 'anti-Trump' Not 'anti-tech'

One resource from a polling firm, called Redbud Consulting, tracked data center initiatives on the ballot and reported that out of 44 measures across 10 states seeking to restrict data centers, 38 passed so far. Those measures included dozens of moratoriums and bans.

Analysts suggested those won't impact data centers already under construction or approved through 2027, instead largely impacting future projects planned for 2028.

Only one measure passed allowing a data center to proceed. But even that small win represented pushback on the AI industry -- requiring data center developers in a North Dakota city to pay for independent reviews and hold public hearings when expanding or proposing projects.

In addition to increasing regulations on data centers, voters also backed anti-AI candidates, electing officials vowing crackdowns in key states building out the most data center capacity in the US.

Another view ...

Voters fiercely reject data centers
www.newsnationnow.com

... Fierce pushback to data centers helped carry Democrats to victory in key races across the nation this week, and where the centers were explicitly on the ballot, they lost overwhelmingly.

Midterm voters rejected industry-backed candidates and overwhelmingly backed resolutions to halt data center construction, dealing a major blow to the sector.

Election Day marked perhaps the biggest test so far for data center sentiment. Technology watchdog groups are seizing on the outcome, stating results show the public is largely rejecting the facilities and the technology they power.

"Data centers represent a fear and an angst that voters have about being replaced by AI, losing their jobs, losing their livelihoods [and] the rising price of energy in their local area," said Brendan Steinhauser, who managed Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) 2014 campaign and is now CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI. He added that they were also representative of "corruption" from "Big Tech oligarchs." ...

... Following a blue wave that put Democrats in control of the next Congress and demonstrated Americans' discontent with the AI buildout, OpenAI is rolling out new commitments governing how it develops data centers.

The company behind ChatGPT announced Thursday that it will limit the controversial practice of using nondisclosure agreements with public officials and cover the electricity and energy infrastructure costs of future data centers it owns and operates.

The promises are part of OpenAI's new National Community Compact, a framework outlining how the company plans to work with locals in places where it builds data centers. The framework also includes pledges to be more transparent about construction plans and noise levels, develop water-use plans tailored to each community, and invest in local services such as childcare, education, healthcare, and transportation. ...

@#4 ... The promises are part of OpenAI's new National Community Compact, a framework outlining how the company plans to work with locals in places where it builds data centers. The framework also includes pledges to be more transparent about construction plans and noise levels, develop water-use plans tailored to each community ...

So, OpenAI has effectively admitted that it has not been honest (transparent) about those issues in the past?

And then there is this aspect of prior behavior ...

... The company behind ChatGPT announced Thursday that it will limit the controversial practice of using nondisclosure agreements with public officials and cover the electricity and energy infrastructure costs of future data centers it owns and operates. ...

So, OpenAI will ~limit~ the use of non-disclosure agreements, but it will not say that it will eliminate such usage? ...

Why does OpenAI seem to have a need to hide what it is doing in communities from those who live in those communities?