Americans have heard about the rise of “data centers”–infrastructure for equipment used for internet and cloud computing and now for training and running AI models. But opinions about the impacts they have are mixed and overall knowledge limited, according to a recent study from Pew Research Center.
By The Numbers:
Fifty-percent of Americans said they’ve heard “a little” about data centers; 25% said they’ve heard “a lot” about data centers; and 25% said they’ve heard “nothing at all” about data centers.
More Americans are aware of the negative impacts of the data centers compared to the positive economic impacts they could have. Thirty-nine percent said data centers are “mostly bad” for the environment; 38% said they are “mostly bad” for home energy costs; 30% said they are “mostly bad” for “people’s quality of life nearby;” 15% said they are “mostly bad” for local jobs; and 12% said they are “mostly bad” for local tax revenue.
On the positive side, 25% of Americans said data centers are “mostly good” for local jobs and 23% said data centers are “mostly good” for local tax revenue.
The Bottom Line: Earlier this month President Donald Trump brought tech leaders to the White House to sign a pledge to power their own data centers, addressing a main concern many communities have about rising energy costs. This is a positive step as data infrastructure continues growing from coast to coast, but there will still be more voter education to be done, particularly with state legislators and statewide elected officials. Solutions aren’t easy, but the party that shows it’s willing to work to find them will be trusted more on this increasingly important issue.
