Artificial intelligence may be, well, smart, but the critics also say it’s expensive.
The volatile growth of AI data centers is starting to get more and more political backlash, with voters getting worried that their communities could be stuck with higher utility bills and strained water and power supplies.
The problem has become difficult to overlook — and even advertisers are anxious, according to a story by Newsmax.
Liquid Death, along with Jason and Travis Kelce’s Garage Beer, released a satirical video Tuesday pledging to “send your pee to the AI data center of your choice,” mocking the enormous water demands associated with those facilities.
“It was an idea of just, hey, what if we used pee to cool data centers instead of water?” Liquid Death executive Andy Pearson told CNBC.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump acknowledged that the industry “can use a little public relations help,” but argued that communities should embrace the investment.
“I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous,” Trump said.
Still, the Newsmax story reported that the political consequences are becoming increasingly serious.
On Tuesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee cautioned in a memo that data centers have become a “sleeper issue” in the midterm elections as backlash grows across party lines.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Trump’s endorsed candidate to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, easily nabbed the Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday. Recently, Donalds introduced the “Protecting Ratepayers Act,” which seeks to ensure private developers — not taxpayers — pick up the investment costs tied to new data center projects.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
