A striking new poll reveals that most Americans are uneasy about the rapid expansion of data centers powering artificial intelligence, with a significant majority saying they would oppose having one built in their own community. The Reuters/Ipsos survey, which captured the views of over forty-five hundred adults across the country, found that only one in three people approve of the current pace of data center construction. Even more telling, just fourteen percent of respondents said they would feel comfortable with a facility like that located nearby. As the United States barrels toward an AI-driven future, the voices from this poll suggest that the people living in the shadows of this infrastructure boom are far from convinced it is a good thing.
I have spent years covering energy and technology policy, and what stands out to me here is how rarely we pause to ask everyday citizens what they think about the physical machinery behind the apps and algorithms they use. Data centers are not abstract clouds. They are sprawling, concrete complexes filled with humming servers, industrial cooling systems, and backup generators. They consume staggering amounts of electricity around the clock, and they require vast tracts of land along with millions of gallons of water to keep from overheating. Yet for all that, they create surprisingly few permanent jobs once construction wraps up. That gap between what a community gives up and what it gets back seems to be at the heart of the public’s growing resistance.
The poll, conducted over six days and closing just recently, surveyed forty-five hundred and thirty-one people nationwide. The results are hard to ignore. Sixty-four percent of Americans disagreed with the notion that building data centers at a rapid pace is mostly a good thing. While Republicans showed slightly higher support for fast‑tracked construction than Democrats did, the broader skepticism cut across party lines. Fifty-seven percent of all respondents said they would oppose a data center being built in their own neighborhood. That includes two‑thirds of Democrats and half of Republicans. Only fourteen percent said they would welcome such a project nearby.
Behind those numbers is a very tangible worry about household costs. Seventy‑seven percent of survey respondents said they are concerned that AI will drive up electricity prices. That concern was remarkably consistent across Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. And it is not an irrational fear. AI algorithms are famously energy‑hungry. Training a single large language model can consume as much electricity as hundreds of homes do in a year, and once those models are deployed, the ongoing queries burn even more power. With over seven hundred data centers already operating in the United States and another thousand and sixty‑two planned, according to the research firm Cleanview, the strain on local and regional power grids is only going to intensify.
This issue is not just a technical footnote. It is beginning to shape political conversations ahead of the November midterm elections. Some Democratic candidates, including progressive U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner from Maine, have started campaigning on the risk that data centers could push electricity bills higher for ordinary families. They are trying to turn what might seem like a niche infrastructure concern into a pocketbook issue, and the poll suggests they may have tapped into something real. With the national average price of gasoline having stayed above four dollars a gallon for more than two months, inflation remains a raw nerve for voters. Adding the fear of even more expensive electricity to that mix is a potent political message.
At the same time, the Trump administration has made rapid AI development a top priority, citing competition with China as the primary justification. Federal agencies have been directed to accelerate permitting for energy and technology infrastructure, including data centers. But the poll results raise a difficult question. Can you build out AI infrastructure at breakneck speed when a majority of the people living near those sites are actively opposed to them? Local zoning boards, community meetings, and public utility commissions are not easily steamrolled, even by federal priorities. One of the lessons I have learned watching energy projects over the years is that community resistance does not just delay things. It can fundamentally reshape them, often in ways that executives in faraway boardrooms fail to anticipate.
Public perception around Brand New Day has been surprisingly warm for a franchise this deep into its run. After the mixed reactions to some of the post-Endgame Marvel projects, fans seem hungry for something more grounded, and everything about this film suggests that is exactly what Holland and the creative team are delivering. The early India release feels less like a marketing gimmick and more like a genuine acknowledgment that the audience here has become a cornerstone of the franchise’s global success. Whether that good will translates into a great film remains to be seen, but for now, Indian Spider-Man fans have one extra reason to mark July 30 on their calendars. And if history is any guide, those June 17 pre-booking slots will disappear faster than Peter Parker on his way to a crime scene.
