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Communities Across America Revolt Against AI Infrastructure Boom · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A political issue that barely existed a few years ago
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  Speaker 1: is rapidly becoming one of the most unexpected forces shaping
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: America's midterm elections. Across the rural Midwest, growing opposition to
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  Speaker 1: data centers and the infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence is creating
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  Speaker 1: new opportunities for Democratic candidates who have struggled for years
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  Speaker 1: to gain traction in communities that increasingly favor Republicans. What
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  Speaker 1: was once promoted as a symbol of economic development technological innovation,
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  Speaker 1: and future prosperity is now facing mounting scrutiny from residents
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  Speaker 1: concerned about tax incentives, energy consumption, water use, farmland preservation,
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  Speaker 1: and the growing influence of major technology corporations. The shift
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  Speaker 1: is especially visible in Ohio, where local resistance to data
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  Speaker 1: center construction has evolved into a broader political movement. In defiance,
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  Speaker 1: a city surrounded by farmland in northwestern Ohio Residents began
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  Speaker 1: organizing after learning that local economic development officials had received
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  Speaker 1: inquiries from technology companies exploring potential projects. Although no major
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  Speaker 1: company has announced plans to build a facility there, concerns
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  Speaker 1: spread quickly through the community. Residents gathered signatures for a
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  Speaker 1: ballot initiative that would limit data center development, while city
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  Speaker 1: leaders responded by approving a temporary moratorium on new projects.
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  Speaker 1: What began as a local zoning concern has now become
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  Speaker 1: part of a statewide conversation about the future of artificial
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  Speaker 1: intelligence infrastructure. The controversy intensified after state tax records showed
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  Speaker 1: Ohio had foregone more than $ 2 billion in sales tax
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  Speaker 1: revenue through incentives granted to data center projects during 2024
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  Speaker 1: and 2025, benefiting major technology companies including Amazon and Meta.
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  Speaker 1: For many residents, The figures reinforced a growing belief that
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  Speaker 1: ordinary taxpayers were subsidizing some of the world's most powerful
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  Speaker 1: corporations while receiving uncertain benefits in return. Concerns over electricity demand,
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  Speaker 1: pressure on public utilities, water consumption, and the potential loss
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  Speaker 1: of agricultural land have added to the sense of unease.
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  Speaker 1: Polling suggests the backlash is no longer limited to a
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  Speaker 1: small group of activists. An August survey conducted by Bowling
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  Speaker 1: Green State University found that 71% of Ohio residents support
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  Speaker 1: a temporary pause on new data center construction. Such numbers
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  Speaker 1: have transformed the issue from a local development dispute into
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  Speaker 1: a significant political concern. Candidates from both parties are now
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  Speaker 1: being forced to address questions that would have seemed unusual
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  Speaker 1: only a short time ago. Voters want to know who
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  Speaker 1: benefits from the artificial intelligence boom who bears the costs,
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  Speaker 1: and whether existing safeguards are adequate to protect communities from
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  Speaker 1: unintended consequences.