Of Course People Hate Data Centres

The breakout issue of 2026 has undoubtedly been data centres, more precisely opposition to data centres. People despise them. In the US midterms, only a single ballot measure (out of 44) on data centres resulted in a favourable outcome for the developers. In exit polls conducted by CBS News, 76% of respondents oppose construction of data centres in their community – and it’s not just Democrats (87% oppose): opposition among Republicans (62% oppose) and independents (78% oppose) is high too. Simultaneously, views on AI are bleak, with 57% of respondents saying it will do more to hurt humanity than to help; only 24% say it will help more. In Europe, 92 protests against data centres are being organised in November alone. Those in tech have been caught off guard, and many don’t seem to understand this strong opposition. I think it’s obvious. I’m sure there’s always been opposition to heavy industry. No one wants to live next to a chemical plant. However, this feels different. We’ve been…

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