The report describes a Thursday evening midterm election event in Brooklyn, hosted by Newsreel, where data centers and AI dominated the conversation. The author, a tech reporter, moderated a panel on data centers. Attendees booed when the author asked who supported AI data centers.
The report cites Data Center Watch, which found that almost $200 billion in data center projects were delayed, stalled, or blocked in the first half of 2026 because of political and community opposition. The report says states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, New York, and Virginia are considering more guardrails and transparency around data centers. It also says hundreds of new data centers are planned in Virginia.
New York City Council member Chi Ossé said tech executives should be called to testify in front of Congress about AI. Panelist Hilary Flint said people protest data centers because they "value their lives a little bit more than a temporary check." Panelist Maia Woluchem discussed concerns about secret deals between big tech companies and local officials, and zoning rules that can hide what is being built until it is too late to protest.
Batya Ungar-Sargon said some labor unions support data centers for the jobs they promise. The report notes that data centers create many jobs during construction, but those jobs are not permanent. Astead Herndon said Vivek Ramaswamy was booed in Ohio for making a similar jobs argument. Morris Katz criticized data center developers as the same institutional powers that have taken union jobs away.