Voters in a California City Just Banned Data Centers Forever, Proving Arrogance Comes at a Cost |
Voters in a California City Just Banned Data Centers Forever, Proving Arrogance Comes at a Cost
It’s part of an anti-AI groundswell across the country.
EXPERT OPINION BY MINDA ZETLIN, AUTHOR OF 'CAREER SELF-CARE: FIND YOUR HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, AND FULFILLMENT AT WORK' @MINDAZETLIN
A 33 megawatt data center in Vernon, California. Photo: Getty Images
Monterey Park, California, just became the first city in the US to vote in a permanent ban on large-scale data centers. It certainly won’t be the last. As my Inc. colleague Soren Kaplan notes, at least one poll shows Americans oppose having a data center nearby even more than a nuclear power plant. And while Monterey Park’s is the first permanent ban, there are temporary bans and moratoria all across the country.
This rising tide of anti-data center sentiment comes at a time when tech companies are racing to build the massive infrastructure they need to........