Seattle data center ban mirrors wider AI backlash
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About half of Americans support a temporary ban on new data centers like the one recently passed in Seattle, a new survey finds.
Why it matters: Data centers are becoming a stand-in for broader anger at an AI future — one many Americans don't want but fear they'll have to pay for.
By the numbers: Of nearly 7,000 Americans polled by Milltown Partners, a firm that counsels AI labs and tech startups, 38% said they would support a data center being built near their home.
- 34% said they would oppose it.
- Meanwhile, 49% said they support a moratorium on construction of new data centers. Only 16% oppose a moratorium.
Between the lines: The split suggests many voters aren't categorically anti-data center, but they are wary of the pace and terms of the buildout.
Case in point: When Seattle passed its one-year moratorium last month, supporters said it would give the city time to develop safeguards around the facilities.
- Council members cited concerns about how large data centers could affect electricity costs, pollution and noise levels, among other issues.
- The move followed four companies approaching Seattle City Light about building five large-scale data centers in the city.
The latest: This week, the Seattle City Council approved higher electricity rates for new data centers, with the increases set to take effect after the moratorium ends.
What they're saying: Warnings from tech leaders that AI will bring mass job loss are handing critics more ammunition.
- "This isn't happening in a vacuum," Milltown Partners researcher Tom Brookes says. "The AI transformation is arriving at a time when Americans already feel angry, insecure and pessimistic."
- If unemployment rises by 2 percentage points and people blame AI, we will see a "real populist backlash," Andy Hall, professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, wrote on X in May.
Other cities in Washington are also pausing new data center construction.
- Pasco passed a six-month moratorium this week, while Federal Way and Spokane recently passed one-year bans.
- Tacoma officials also clarified this month that their city code doesn't allow data centers within the city limits.
The bottom line: The massive, windowless warehouses packed with computing infrastructure have become a physical symbol of wider AI anxiety.