China · Axios · South Korea · Axios
China fueling U.S. data center resistance, AI groups claim
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
The AI industry, battling concerns about its impact on jobs and energy costs, is accusing China-linked actors of using social media to fan opposition to the data centers powering America's AI boom.
Key facts
- Other social media posts, some originating in South Asia and North Africa, are highlighting criticism and growing protests over the Stratos Project, a planned 40,000-acre data center campus
- The AI groups admit they can't precisely quantify how many anti-data center posts are being driven by entities in China and its proxies
- When any corporation wants to dodge legitimate criticism they point to 'outside agitators,' " Tim Donaghy, research director for the environmental group Greenpeace USA, told Axios
- The AI industry, battling concerns about its impact on jobs and energy costs, is accusing China-linked actors of using social media to fan opposition to the data centers powering America's AI boom
Summary
As the U.S. and China race for AI supremacy, resistance to data centers is threatening the industry's massive buildout plans here, and AI leaders believe foreign actors are stoking the backlash. Pro-AI groups say they've been tracking a barrage of what they believe are bot-driven social media messages, which they argue is being driven by China, its proxies and other countries in its sphere of influence. "Americans have AI anxiety for a variety of reasons, and that makes it particularly susceptible to disinformation about data centers," said Steve DelBianco, president and CEO of NetChoice, a tech industry trade association. Data center critics counter that the industry is using China as a bogeyman to try to deflect attention from well-documented opposition in communities across the U.S.