Artificial intelligence was supposed to be the next great technological revolution. Instead, in many parts of America, it is rapidly becoming one of the most politically toxic industries in the country.
That growing backlash was on full display Friday when former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered a commencement speech at the University of Arizona warning students that AI would transform society faster and more dramatically than previous technological revolutions. Rather than applause, Schmidt was met with loud boos from parts of the audience.
And increasingly, those reactions are no longer isolated.
Across the country, public frustration with AI and the massive data-center expansion fueling it is exploding into lawsuits, protests, election upsets, regulatory fights, and even violence.
Poll after poll now shows Americans growing deeply uneasy about artificial intelligence. Concerns range from job losses and rising electricity prices to fears about children’s mental health, educational damage, surveillance, and the environmental impact of giant data centers consuming staggering amounts of power.
The speed of the public mood shift has stunned even longtime political observers.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen something intensify this quickly,” said Gregory Ferenstein, who helped conduct a recent AI opinion poll involving researchers from Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.
The numbers themselves reveal a massive divide.
According to that polling, only about 30 percent of Democrats support accelerating AI development as quickly as possible, compared to roughly half of Republicans and a massive 77 percent of technology founders and startup executives.
Meanwhile, resistance to AI infrastructure is becoming a potent local political issue.
In Festus, Missouri, voters recently removed four city council members from office just one week after they approved a $6 billion data-center project. Across the country, communities from Arizona to Maine are organizing campaigns to stop new facilities from being built in their areas.
Some 360,000 Americans are now reportedly participating in Facebook groups opposing data-center development — roughly four times the number seen just months ago.
The backlash is beginning to create real consequences for the industry itself.
Data Center Watch reports that at least 48 major data-center projects worth approximately $156 billion were delayed or blocked last year because of local opposition. Another 20 projects were reportedly canceled during the first quarter of this year alone.
That creates a growing crisis for AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and others that depend on enormous amounts of computing power to train increasingly sophisticated models.
The economics are staggering. Investors have poured tens of billions of dollars into the AI boom, much of it tied directly to the construction of giant hyperscale data centers.
But many Americans increasingly see those facilities not as progress, but as threats.
Residents complain about soaring electricity demand straining local power grids, increasing utility bills, consuming water resources, and changing the character of communities.
In Indianapolis, one city councilman who supported a data-center project found himself the target of threats and gunfire after approving the facility. According to reports, someone fired 13 shots at his front door while leaving messages reading “NO DATA CENTERS.”
Elsewhere, a 20-year-old Texas man allegedly attacked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home with a Molotov cocktail while making threats against the company.
Political leaders are now scrambling to respond.
Sen. Josh Hawley has proposed legislation imposing new regulations on AI companies and data centers, arguing communities feel “under siege.”
Even Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller recently called for a moratorium on new hyperscale data-center construction in the state, warning about pressure on the electrical grid and costs to farmers.
The political lines around AI are also becoming increasingly strange and unpredictable.
In Memphis, congressional candidate Justin Pearson has built support among both Democrats and Republicans by opposing Elon Musk’s xAI data-center operations. Civil-rights groups like the NAACP have also entered the fight, suing over environmental and permitting concerns tied to AI infrastructure.
Meanwhile, AI companies themselves are realizing they may have badly underestimated public resistance.
Executives are now spending heavily on political campaigns and public-relations efforts aimed at convincing Americans that AI will improve daily life rather than destroy jobs and communities.
President Trump himself recently acknowledged the industry’s image problem, joking that data centers “need some PR help.”
