Advocacy group urges intelligence committees to investigate foreign influence on A.I. data centers
An advocacy group, the Coalition for Affordability and Prosperity, is urging US intelligence committees to investigate foreign influence on public opposition to data center development across the United States. The group alleges that foreign adversaries like China and Russia are exploiting environmental and energy concerns to hinder US AI infrastructure growth, posing a national security threat. This perceived interference is transforming local zoning disputes into broader political campaigns.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is fueling a massive data center construction boom across the United States, which is increasingly viewed as a national security issue in the race for AI dominance with China. Chuck Flint, executive director of the Coalition for Affordability and Prosperity, has called upon congressional intelligence committees to investigate potential foreign interference aimed at slowing or stopping data center development in the US.
Flint highlighted evidence of this interference, pointing to Chinese state-run media outlets such as CGTN, China Daily, and Global Times, as well as Russia Today television. These outlets have published reports raising concerns about water consumption, energy usage, and environmental impacts associated with data centers in America. Flint emphasized the hypocrisy, noting that China is simultaneously subsidizing its own data center build-out while allegedly funding opposition to US projects, giving them a military and economic advantage in the global AI race.
Furthermore, Flint discussed a new report questioning the Anti-Data Center movement's connections to Democrat-aligned operatives and George Soros-funded organizations. He alleged that these groups are turning local data center disputes into political campaigns. He also referenced Neville Roy, an American tech billionaire based in Shanghai with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and married to a co-founder of CodePink, as being involved in these activities. Flint described this as "cognitive warfare" and "propaganda" that masks a national security threat as a local zoning fight.
Flint urged Americans to understand the scale and organization behind some of these protests, citing examples like the Delaney Hall protests involving numerous organizations with substantial annual revenues. He noted the use of sophisticated tactics, including encrypted signal chats and the alleged abuse of 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to obscure funding sources, indicating well-resourced and coordinated efforts rather than organic grassroots movements. He called for transparency and investigations into the foreign and organizational funding behind these activities.