STU SMITH: Inside the Rise of the Anti–Data Center Movement.
The boom in data-center construction is one of the most important economic developments in recent history, helping to power the promise of AI-enabled growth. Yet opposing data centers has rapidly become a unifying cause across a broad coalition of some of the nation’s most ardent left-wing activist groups, who have made it their mission to disrupt this innovation at all costs.
Organizers for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) link data-center growth to rising utility costs and concentrated Big Tech power. “Anti-imperialist” groups portray AI as a tool of surveillance and militarization. Anti-ICE activists argue that data centers enable immigration enforcement and expand domestic surveillance.
Together, these strands are converging on the proliferating facilities as a target, making data centers a potent tool for drawing everyday Americans into the web of left-wing activist groups—and creating opportunities for “direct action” against increasingly vital infrastructure.
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