Flock camera backlash adds fuel to midterm anti-AI frenzy; Axios, August 23, 2026

 

• Andrew Solender, Axios; 

  Flock camera backlash adds fuel to midterm anti-AI frenzy

"Flock cameras are joining data centers as a top midterm boogeyman, with members of Congress and congressional candidates trying to harness a sudden groundswell of grassroots anger over the AI surveillance tool.

Why it matters: This blowup over the country's massive network of license plate readers illustrates how rapidly AI has morphed from a peripheral issue in national politics toward the center of the midterm campaign.

Data centers have become a major issue in the midterms, with candidates racing to one-up each other in their opposition to building the energy-hungry facilities.

Super PACs affiliated with AI companies have also spent tens of millions of dollars clashing with each other in congressional elections over the degree to which the federal government should regulate the technology.

Now, surveillance cameras are opening a new front in the debate over AI.

Driving the news: Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, posted a video to X Wednesday tying his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, to Flock cameras.

"There's been this mass proliferation of Flock cameras, any and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without you even noticing," El-Sayed says with the '80s tune "Somebody's Watching Me" playing in the background.

El-Sayed accuses Rogers of supporting the practice, citing a 2013 hearing in which the then-House Intelligence Committee chair said: "You can't have your privacy violated if you don't know your privacy is violated, right?"

The Rogers campaign did not respond to a request for comment."

Voters Aren’t Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers; The New York Times, August 19, 2026

David McCabe, The New York Times ; Voters Aren’t Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers

As a backlash grows over data centers, more local officials are facing recall elections for their support of the computing sites.

"Some local officials have already lost their jobs in the face of data center concerns in regularly scheduled elections. Last year, two members of the Georgia Public Service Commission lost their seats amid concern about data centers’ driving up electricity prices. A Virginia state delegate, Geary Higgins, also lost his job last year after his opponent branded him “Data Center Geary.”

“People are standing up and saying, ‘Sorry, we don’t want these data centers in our communities for a number of reasons,’” Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, said in an interview. “‘If you can’t have the guts to stand up to some large corporation, you should not continue serving in office.’”

Voters have little patience for politicians supporting data centers, said Amy Kremer, the chairwoman of Humans First, a conservative-leaning group promoting greater A.I. regulation. They will “step up and recall them and hold them accountable."

Data center developers are pushing Pa. government officials to sign secrecy agreements. At least some are saying yes.; SpotlightPA, August 19, 2026

 

Kate Huangpu , SpotlightPA; Data center developers are pushing Pa. government officials to sign secrecy agreements. At least some are saying yes.

"Public records requests filed by Spotlight PA found at least eight NDAs signed by township, county, and Shapiro administration officials for data center projects. Why they signed and whether the NDA shaped an eventual deal isn’t always clear. Only two lawmakers who signed such agreements responded to the newsroom’s requests for comment.

Data center developers across the United States have increasingly turned to this tactic. They have secured NDAs with elected officials and economic development advisors, limiting what information about planned data centers can be shared with communities."

The A.I. Giants Weren’t Prepared for This; The New York Times, August 4, 2026

 

Ezra Klein

Produced by Rollin Hu

, The New York Times; The A.I. Giants Weren’t Prepared for This

"What is big and ugly and has united Republicans and Democrats at a time when it has felt nothing could? A.I. data centers.

Last August a Heatmap News poll found that approximately four in 10 voters would oppose a data center being built where they live. By May of this year, opposition grew to seven in 10. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida — a Republican, of course — proposed legislation that was known as an A.I. Bill of Rights.

Senator Bernie Sanders called for a national data center moratorium — one of more than 100 local or statewide moratorium proposals across the country. And in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul, not usually thought of as a hard-core populist, just imposed a one-year moratorium on data center construction."

Coming to some of Pennsylvania’s most picturesque places: data centers; Spotlight PA, August 5, 2026

Emilie Lounsberry, Spotlight PA ; Coming to some of Pennsylvania’s most picturesque places: data centers

"Data centers are being proposed near some of Pennsylvania’s most treasured natural spaces. They are planned on land next to state parks and nature preserves and near lakes, streams and rivers that are considered of “exceptional value”—a gold-star designation given by the state to only the purest waterways and wetlands. About 80 percent of the exceptional value water bodies in the state are in the Poconos.

Some of the proposed data-center sites are also near popular tourist areas: Just outside the historic town of Jim Thorpe, known for weekend getaways, whitewater rafting and a scenic railway tourist train. Behind a big resort and water park. Down the road from a ski resort. Next to a scenic vista that was once a gathering place for Native American tribal leaders.

“They have been targeting some of our most beautiful places,” said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, an organizer with the Pennsylvania team of Food & Water Watch, an environmental advocacy group.

Developers have been on the hunt for large parcels of land that are near adequate power supplies or in places that would allow them to build their own power source—as well as near water, which is needed to cool the vast computer systems. They are finding all of that in the Poconos.

The data centers will help facilitate the expansion of artificial intelligence. Proponents say the centers will bring construction jobs and increase tax revenue. But there are costs too: the vast quantities of power and water needed and the potential impacts on the environment and nearby residents. That’s especially true in ecologically valuable areas like the Poconos."

The Environmental Case Against Data Centers Is Misguided; The New York Times, July 25, 2026

 Adam Mastroianni, The New York Times ; The Environmental Case Against Data Centers Is Misguided

"I empathize with the environmental opposition to data center construction, but the arguments are shakier than they seem. The battle over where A.I. data centers are being built is really a battle over what role A.I. should play in our lives. And that’s a battle that critics can win."

Data centers have united Americans of both parties in a shared hatred; The Washington Post, July 18, 2026

 Shira Ovide , The Washington Post; Data centers have united Americans of both parties in a shared hatred

"Kyle Schmidt ticked through what makes him irate about the massive Google data center slated for construction about a mile away from his home near Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

He didn’t like that residents were kept in the dark about what would be built on a pristine tract of mostly forested land. He’s worried about the data center’s potential impact on the community’s water supply and on the dream home that his family moved into last year.

But Schmidt said what really bothers him is the powerlessness he felt as the project advanced and elected officials, Google representatives and bigwig data center backers belittled or misled people who raised concerns...

Opposition in both red and blue regions continued to build to the point where he has tracked about 65 state data center restrictions enacted since the start of 2025, and dozens of cities that have imposed temporary halts to data center development. This week, New York became the first state in the nation to impose a temporary pause on large new data center projects...

Tech giants and other data center backers have been caught off guard by the rapid rise of public opposition, arguing that the hubs are essential for modern digital services and to keep the United States ahead of China on AI."

‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres; The Guardian, June 29, 2026

Zoe Williams, The Guardian; ‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres

"Some of the emails Brockovich gets from people near datacentres express genuine bafflement: “Why did I not know about this? How did this construction just start? Why am I now getting a notice from the city council that this has already passed when I didn’t even have a voice in it?” Others reflect concerns about the impact of the centres: “What about our resources? What’s happening to the water? Who’s paying for all this energy and am I going to foot that bill? What will the future impact on health be from these monstrosities? What’s going to happen to the wildlife?”"

The AI backlash is only getting started; The Economist, June 25, 2026

  The Economist; The AI backlash is only getting started

"Advances in artificial intelligence have long terrified techies. Lately, voters are feeling the angst, too. ai is unpopular in the West and climbing up the political agenda. The fiercest fights so far have been in America, where protests against data centres have scuppered nearly $100bn-worth of projects, warring ai megadonors have just dumped tens of millions into a Manhattan congressional race and around 40% of voters tell pollsters that they want ai banned from most industries. But spats are breaking out elsewhere: after chipmaking profits soared recently, workers at Samsung in South Korea threatened a strike to secure special payouts."

It’s No Wonder Grads Are Booing Their Commencement Speakers; The New York Times, June 5, 2026

 Molly Jong-Fast , The New York Times; It’s No Wonder Grads Are Booing Their Commencement Speakers

"According to a recent working paper from researchers at Harvard, hiring for entry-level roles at companies that have adopted generative A.I. has dropped each quarter since 2023. What is not clear is whether A.I. is taking people’s jobs or if companies are using A.I. as an excuse for not hiring. Either way, A.I. is not exactly popular with people entering the work force for the first time...

If I were to tell these graduates the truth about artificial intelligence, it would be this: You are right to be worried. But none of this is as inevitable as it seems. Remember putting everything on the blockchain? Remember NFTs? Hell, some of us are old enough to remember that the world was supposed to end in the year 2000.

Right now, A.I. is in its dark hype period — great for Anthropic’s I.P.O. — but who knows how useful any of this actually will be in the end in creating efficiencies (as in, replacing the young with bots). It’s within young people’s power to stop. Demand regulation of tech companies. Elect people who will legislate that regulation. Organize against data centers in your hometowns.

Don’t just boo — do something."

Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land; The Guardian, June 8, 2026

Oliver Milman with data visuals by Andrew Witherspoon , The Guardian; Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land

"A record-shattering drought has racked much of the US. But the artificial intelligence industry is pushing ahead regardless, with the majority of planned datacenters set to be built in drought-ridden locations, a Guardian analysis has found.

About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are set to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year.

Of 809 planned datacenters, 517 are in locations that have been in drought conditions throughout the past year, according to data from Cleanview and the federal government, which grades drought across four levels of severity. A similar proportion of existing datacenters are already situated in drought-affected areas."

Nashville Zoo tries to halt proposed data center over animal safety concerns; NBC News, June 5, 2026

 David Ingram , NBC News; Nashville Zoo tries to halt proposed data center over animal safety concerns

"A nationwide backlash against artificial intelligence data centers has a new ally: the leopards of the Nashville Zoo.

The zoo, a popular destination in Tennessee’s capital city, is trying to block a proposed 69,000-square-foot data center from being built next door. The zoo says that the facility would be about 50 yards from some of its animals and that the noise could disturb its residents, including a leap of leopards that hail originally from Southeast Asia...

The zoo this week launched an online petition against the data center that, as of Friday, had more than 180,000 signatures and 25,000 shares on Facebook. The petition asks city leaders to intervene to protect “one of the most fragile and rare collections of animals in the country.”

Schwartz said he’s especially worried about noise from the data center affecting the breeding of clouded leopards, a vulnerable species that the zoo is working to conserve.

Courtney Johnston, a member of the metropolitan council whose district includes the zoo, said she was being inundated by messages from concerned residents. She said she had filed a zoning appeal and would ask the council to vote Tuesday on a data center moratorium.

“I’m getting phone calls. I’m getting emails. All of my social media. Text messages. The community is speaking,” she said.

It’s the latest example of data centers getting pushback in communities nationwide, as neighbors say they don’t want to live near them or object more broadly to the direction of the tech and AI industries. There’s been a bipartisan push for regulation, as well as lawsuits and opposition to tax breaks."

The AI vibe shift is real: Why the backlash is growing; Mashable, June 6, 2026

 Chris Taylor, Mashaable; The AI vibe shift is real: Why the backlash is growing

"But outside the AI bubble, a backlash is brewing, and not only among students booing pro-AI commencement speakers. 

Just 10 percent of Americans say they're thrilled about the future of AI, a Pew poll found in March; that same month, some 80 percent of registered U.S. voters in an NBC poll said neither Democrats nor Republicans are doing a good job on the AI front. That number also appears in an April survey of white-collar workers: 80 percent are straight-up refusing to use AI even when it's mandated. In the last 30 days, 54 percent of workers reported bypassing company AI tools and completing jobs themselves.

Those numbers suggest general strike-levels of discontent with AI across every industry, out there in the real America beyond Silicon Valley and Wall Street, if not an outright revolutionary mood. 

Data center protests, fueled by the 70 percent of Americans who say they don't want data centers near them, are only likely to grow going forward — especially now that they are producing tangible results. At least 48 data center projects were blocked or delayed in 2025, according to Data Center Watch, and the fight is only getting more fierce."

PHILLY COPS ADMIT THAT THEY’RE TRACKING “FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVITY” CRITICAL OF AI; The Intercept, June 1, 2026

 Matt Sledge,  Sam Biddle , The Intercept; PHILLY COPS ADMIT THAT THEY’RE TRACKING “FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVITY” CRITICAL OF AI

"AMERICANS SPEAKING OUT against artificial intelligence data centers on social media are falling under police surveillance, a confidential law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Intercept reveals.

A fusion center in Philadelphia combed through spicy internet comments from AI critics and concluded there is a growing risk of physical violence against data centers from “domestic violent extremists,” ranging from white supremacists to anarchists.

“Domestic violent extremists (DVEs) are likely interested in targeting artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, posing a physical and cyber threat to infrastructure in the Philadelphia regional area,” the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center wrote in a December alert.

The fusion center distributed its warning, marked “for official use only,” through the national fusion center network of state, local, and federal police agencies.

Like many of the reports produced by fusion centers, the bulletin points to news reports and social media posts, but cites little in the way of tangible threats. It acknowledges “a lack of specific information on plans to target AI data centers in the Philadelphia area,” but warns law enforcement that three planned data center facilities in the region could become targets of future protests."

Lawmakers push for AI data center moratoriums as more states consider projects; Deseret News, May 15, 2026

Cami Mondeaux , Deseret News; Lawmakers push for AI data center moratoriums as more states consider projects

"A pair of progressive lawmakers in Congress are teaming up to push for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers until nationwide safeguards are put in place — dividing members of their party as more states consider projects of their own. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act in March, seeking a federal suspension of data center construction until national protections are put in place. Those protections, they say, should include assurances that the economic gains of centers will benefit workers rather than just Big Tech owners, the centers will not increase electricity or utility prices, or that construction will not harm surrounding communities or the environment.

AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity. The scale, scope and speed of that change is unprecedented,” Sanders said in a statement at the time. “Bottom line: We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity. We need serious public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential issue.”...

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called the proposal “idiocy” when asked about a federal moratorium during an Axios summit in March. Warner warned that putting a pause on data center projects in the United States would only give adversarial nations such as China an advantage...

The debate comes as more states consider their own projects, including Utah, which just approved the construction of an AI data center in Box Elder County. That project has elicited widespread protests and pushback from opponents who worry the facility would threaten water resources in the area, particularly with the shrinking Great Salt Lake."