Rising Progressive Populist Revolt Stuns AI Profiteers

A growing progressive populist movement, extending even into rural Republican strongholds, is actively rebelling against the expansion of AI data centers by major tech companies. The article highlights a significant backlash against companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta, which are investing trillions into AI infrastructure that demands vast amounts of rural land, water, and energy. Contrary to the billionaires' assumptions, local communities are strongly opposing these developments. This public fury has resulted in at least 48 data centers being stopped last year, with developers reportedly driven out of states such as Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin. In Texas, despite Governor Greg Abbott's support for data centers, rural counties are rejecting projects, and the state's Republican Party has voted to oppose further construction. The author, Jim Hightower, draws parallels to the previous failure of 'vertical farms,' another tech-driven agricultural 'reinvention' that faltered due to exorbitant costs and lack of market appeal. He suggests that the current tech leaders are similarly misguided in their assumption that communities will readily accept their AI 'bot wonderworld' and its demands on natural resources.