Data center projects continue to generate controversy around the country. In part, that’s because a variety of different groups have competing interests – some in favor of them, some opposed and others with no direct view on data centers themselves, but with concerns that relate to aspects of data center operations and effects. As a scholar of environmental justice and urban land use, I’ve seen these various conflicting forces at work in Michigan. More than 30 large and small data center projects have been proposed in the state in the past two years alone, including one by the university where I work. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is enthusiastic about bringing technology companies to the state, even posing with tech company CEOs in photo ops at the sites of proposed data centers. But not everyone is as excited. In just one example of the opposition these projects can face, the local water company where I live, the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority, told the state it would not supply water for cooling a data center that the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory had proposed within its service area. So the University of Michigan proposed a different site in the next town over, Superior Township. That town manages its own water but gets its supply by buying it from both the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority and Ann Arbor township. A look at some of the forces at play around these projects reveals the deep issues they raise. The fights about data centers can often take the form of collisions between companies and community members. But they also reflect conflict about social values, democratic systems and capitalist interests. Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/07/14/voters-ai-backlash-politicians-lose-seats/ submitted by /u/fortune
Originally posted by u/fortune on r/ArtificialInteligence