Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on Monday that opposition to data centers is "coming from China." Johnson expressed his views on AI data centers during an appearance on Fox Business, where host Cheryl Casone suggested that China has been fueling the opposition. Johnson remarked, "This is what Democrats do. Every election cycle they find something to glom onto and say that this is doom and gloom and everyone will die if we don’t win. Don’t buy it. This is a Chinese psyop. I really believe that. That’s not a conspiracy theory."
While it is acknowledged that both Russia and China have an interest in inciting American opposition to data centers, evidence indicates that the discussions surrounding the issue are primarily domestic. A recent YouGov poll indicated that nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their local communities. Additionally, Data Center Watch reported that approximately 120 data center projects were either blocked or delayed across the United States in the past six months.
In a conversation with the New York Times in July, Jessica Brandt, a former official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under the Biden administration, stated that China and Russia have only taken advantage of the existing debates about data centers. "Foreign actors aren’t manufacturing American debates over the future of A.I., they are exploiting them," Brandt noted, emphasizing that the objective was to "deepen our divisions in order to dent our appeal and weaken us from within."
A Gallup poll conducted in May revealed that 71 percent of Americans were somewhat or strongly opposed to having a data center built near them, which is nearly 20 percentage points higher than those who opposed the construction of a nearby nuclear power plant. Many individuals have expressed concerns regarding the effects of A.I. on jobs and the environment, while residents near data centers have reported complaints about their appearance and noise. Some cities and counties have implemented temporary or permanent moratoriums on new construction.