Vast majority of Americans oppose data centers while 69% acknowledge using AI: Poll

Seventy-one percent of the public said the costs of data centers outweigh their benefits, compared with just 29% who said the benefits outweigh the costs, according to a new Marquette Law School poll. The share saying the costs outweigh the benefits has increased from 62% in January, as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has drawn scrutiny over its impact on local communities.At the same time, AI use is becoming increasingly common. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they had used an AI application within the previous month, up from 61% in April. Yet 64% said the development of AI is bad for society, compared with 36% who said it is a good thing. Even among people who use AI, skepticism outweighs optimism: 56% of AI users said the technology is bad for society, while 44% said it is good. Among those who do not use AI, 81% said its development is bad for society. The disconnect comes as concerns about AI have become a hot topic in recent weeks. Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon publicly resigned and accused AI companies of “gambling with our lives.” Then, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the industry to deliberately slow the development of frontier AI, a position backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The debate has also moved into Washington. President Donald Trump has advocated a largely pro-development approach to AI, while lawmakers from both parties have pushed competing proposals for greater safeguards. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), for example, have announced legislation that would permanently ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence and temporarily pause advanced AI development until federal safety rules are established. Those broader concerns appear to overlap with the public’s more immediate worries about the infrastructure required to run AI. Fifty-four percent of respondents identified high water use as one of the most important costs of data centers, while 51% cited higher electricity costs.Data centers have garnered backlash in communities across the country for their impact on water supplies and energy prices, prompting lawmakers at all levels to call for a pause on data center development. AI LEADERS FIND A NEW MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: YOUR BILLIONS ARE IN DANGER WITHOUT GUARDRAILSData centers were also the least popular of five large industrial or commercial developments respondents were asked about. Twelve percent said they would like to see a data center built in their area, compared with 31% for a semiconductor fabrication plant, 26% for an automobile manufacturing plant, and 26% for an e-commerce fulfillment center. Forty-four percent said they would not want any of the five types of development in their area.The Marquette Law School survey was conducted Sept. 2 through 9 among 1,023 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.