The boomers’ right wing opposition to data centers has a lot in common with the left

On a wet, wet Saturday morning in central Florida, at least a dozen people gathered outside the Spring Hill Branch Library to protest the construction of a data center in their community. There was no immediate threat — the Hernando County commission unanimously approved a one-year ban on such events in June — but organizers were not satisfied. A short break is not enough. They wanted a ban.

“We will fight, fight, fight,” said a 71-year-old woman named Carol, who was manning a table with papers and a petition the group, No Data Centers Hernando County, is preparing to present to the state. Carol, a retired country music broadcaster, is a dedicated and proud Floridian. The American flag on his red T-shirt had little sea turtles on it. A white face, glittering with red and blue stones, shielded his face from the morning sun. How would you like to have one of your own? EEEENNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

In addition to noise pollution and environmental pollution – the frequencies provided by data centers, he told me, harming bees and other pollinators – Carol was concerned about the social cost of mass AI. She told me about a woman she knew who cut off all her friends because “ChatGPT told her to.”

“They discuss with ChatGPT what time they should get up in the morning, what time they should go to bed, who should be their friends,” he said.

The small gathering in the Tampa area was one of about 150 demonstrations organized by Humans First, which bills itself as “an advocacy group dedicated to ensuring that the future of AI is in the hands of everyday people.”

Carol recounted many of the pain points caused by the data center, some more questionable than others. Cows bred on sites near the data center, it is said, were giving birth to stillborn babies. Hyperscale devices their parts are from ChinaAmerica’s enemy, threatening national security. Carol told me: “We’re getting ready. “Do you know what’s in the chips?” I told her I don’t. “We blindly trust the Chinese?” she continued, incredulous. “Give us the chips?” (Conservative supporters of data centers, meanwhile, China is reportedly funding anti-AI in the United States.)

Communities across the country are pushing back on building data centers. A A recent Gallup poll found that seven out of 10 Americans oppose building a data center in their community. About two-thirds of Republicans and 75 percent of Democrats polled said they oppose building a data center. Americans can be more polarized than everBut the data center’s comeback is bipartisan — and could cement a new, surprising political alliance. The concerns that drive homelessness are similar to those that encourage freedom: the environmental cost of building and maintaining data centers; the ethical issues of AI, from the use of large-scale government surveillance to its impact on the mental health of users; I’m afraid that having a data center nearby will ruin their lives. But there is another public concern behind the right-wing data center backlash, namely the threat of Chinese technology intrusion into the US.

People First, an offshoot of the Center for AI Safety, is courtesy of Amy Kremera longtime conservative organizer who is arguably one of the most influential figures in the transformation of the Republican Party. Kremer was an early Tea Party leader and co-founder of both Women for Trump and Women for America First, the latter of which hosted the Stop the Steal rally in Washington, DC, which led to the January 6 riots. (Kremer was not one of those who destroyed the Capitol.)

Although Humans First was politically active and so was Kremer, the concerns at the Humans First rally in Hernando County were local. A firefighter running for an agricultural inspector left signs; the Republican candidate for County Commissioner was suspended. The meeting ended with a talk from a land use expert who explained how to change areas to avoid construction. hyperscale data centers – that are at least 10,000 square feet and have a minimum draw of 100 megawatts. Before speaking, No Data Center Hernando County member Kim Belanger, who works in IT, released an article on data centers from the progressive website More Perfect Union. Although the room was quiet, the talk, he said, was “very informative.”

Patti Zirhut, an organizer, told me she found Humans First on Facebook. Participating in the national development day was pointless, as Zirhut and his friends had already started No Data Center Hernando County to prevent the construction of a data center in their area.

“I’m a conservative and I don’t believe everything the Democrats believe at all,” Zirhut told me. But he also feels betrayed by Florida’s Republican leadership. He was a big fan of Gov. Ron DeSantis – first. But in his second term, he said, “he has been nothing but a promoter of development, he is just inviting everyone here, to destroy our country.”

DeSantis has positioned himself as an AI skeptic and signed legislation in May requiring hyperscale data centers to pay their own water usage fees and allowing local governments to set water-use regulations for data center projects. But its administration has given data center developers millions in taxes, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The governor is said to have pushed to change the state tax on data centers so that they only apply to hyperscale.

As they sat outside the library, Zirhut and his friends discussed who would replace DeSantis. “This is probably the most important governor’s race of your life,” Belanger told me. They are also affected by a DeSantis vote change that would eliminate the tax burden for many homeowners, as it would cost local governments much-needed money — which would make changes like data centers more attractive.

Zirhut and the others were disappointed by Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate for the gubernatorial race and a vocal supporter of the construction project in Florida. “I don’t understand why Trump would support him,” said one of them.

“I’m not against the data center. I’m pro having a plan,” Donalds he said in February. “The data base will be the work of American life going forward.” Donalds said he wants to bring more foreign investment to Florida — a comment that has come back to haunt him. “My vision is to make Florida the financial center of the world,” he said at the event written by Mountain.

“That’s not what we want here in Florida at all,” Mr. Zirhut told me.

Donalds support for data center now to destroy the supporters of his own party. Recent ads have focused on the support he’s received from tech companies, including more than $5 million in funding from Leading the Future$100 million pro-AI super PAC whose donors include Andreessen Horowitz and Joe Lonsdale of Palantir, according to the Tallahassee Democratand $500,000 from the American Mission, which is supported by Leading the Future. The Donalds seem to be taking a middle ground between the companies that support him and the voters who need help to win the primary. Monday, he he announced the laws which would prevent data centers from incurring maintenance costs.

Opposition to data centers is widespread across the government. More than 20 states and municipalities across the state have discussed or advanced the construction of data centers, Politics reports. In some areas, duplication has been so strong that it has hindered developers. In June, a developer who launched a controversial data center in Citrus County he canceled his plan build an 800-acre data center in the area after the County Commission accepted a one-year suspension for reconfiguring the data center application.

“Unfortunately, the shutdown of the data center would send a signal that the facility is closed to business, data centers and other economic development projects,” said Dan Diorio, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs at the Data Center Coalition, an industry advocacy group. Seaside. But that’s what Zirhut and other organizers want.

Zirhut explained that he is not against growth, but he does not want the government to give grants to large developers who have no connection to the community. “If we were to stay there, with local builders, it would be great because they know what to do with Florida,” he said. “Even our agriculture chief” – Wilton Simpson, a Republican – “is getting people to come in and use herbicides and pesticides, spray them in our lakes and kill all our plants.” He is worried about how AI will help mass surveillance, an issue that has become more popular since The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office began arresting them in the nearby streets.

“We don’t want people to be fired, and our country to be run by AI, and to be like the people of China, where our money is controlled and everything we do is monitored,” he said.

Although Zirhut is a lifelong Republican, the data center issue — and the broader question of infrastructure — has kept him out of politics.

“If Byron Donalds wins the primary, I’m going to vote for a Democrat. I’m not going to vote for him,” he told me, adding that he would also be willing to vote for an independent who opposes data centers. “I think a lot of people are like that, it’s not about parties, it’s about people’s lives.”