AI and data centers are incredibly unpopular in every poll

A New York Times/Siena University survey released Tuesday shows a strong majority of likely voters oppose building data centers to power artificial intelligence. Of the 1,503 respondents surveyed in early September, 61 percent said they opposed construction, while only 14 percent said they strongly supported it. The partisan and turnout splits vary. Voters who backed Donald Trump in 2024 were roughly divided, with 49 percent supporting data-center construction and 45 percent opposing it. By contrast, respondents who had voted for Kamala Harris and people who did not vote leaned sharply against such projects, recording opposition rates of 74 percent and 67 percent, respectively. Among those who objected to data centers, a majority favored restrictions rather than outright prohibition: 56 percent supported limits on construction and 38 percent preferred a total ban. Environmental concerns, notably water usage, were the top reason cited for opposition (32 percent), followed by effects on local communities (21 percent) and general distrust or dislike of AI (18 percent); regulation and economic concerns were named by smaller shares (10 percent and 9 percent). Other recent polls align with this resistance. NBC News found AI polling lower than ICE in March, and a May Gallup survey reported about seven in ten Americans opposed local construction of AI data centers. Despite the opposition, the New York Times/Siena data show AI and data-center construction rank low among issues voters say mattered most in their midterm choice — under 1 percent for most demographic groups, with a modest uptick to 3 percent among 18–29-year-olds. Respondents from both parties tended to trust their own side more to handle the issue, and among a subgroup of 554 respondents, 40 percent favored Democrats, 42 percent favored Republicans, and 18 percent were undecided or refused to answer.