US mayors push back against data centre boom as AI backlash grows

Microsoft, Google, Meta and Amazon are also scouring the country to build out the sprawling windowless concrete structures, driven by the insatiable computing demands of AI. — Photo by Kevin Ache on Unsplash

AUSTIN: Data centres were supposed to be a gift. In cities across the United States, more and more mayors are treating them like a problem.

With the midterm election season approaching, big tech's promise of a windfall of jobs and tax revenue has given way to talk of polluting gas turbines, strained power grids and a growing sense that the AI revolution is being built on the backs of regular citizens.