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When A.I. Comes to Town: The Backlash Over Data Centers

February 16, 2026 • 30m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

The New York Times reporter Karen Wise examines how tech companies are racing to build massive AI data centers across rural America, spending over $400 billion in just one year. The episode focuses on St. Joseph County, Indiana, where an initial $11 billion Amazon data center sparked a local movement that ultimately rejected a proposed $13 billion follow-up project, illustrating the growing tension between Silicon Valley's AI ambitions and local communities asserting control over their resources and future.

The Massive Scale of AI's Infrastructure Boom

Tech giants Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft spent $400 billion last year on capital expenditures, primarily for data centers to power artificial intelligence. These facilities require enormous amounts of power—the largest consuming as much electricity as a million American homes. The demand has created a nationwide scramble for land, power, and water resources, transforming data center construction into an economic force comparable to the GDP of entire countries. Companies are racing to build because current supply cannot meet the explosive demand for AI computing power.

  • Four major tech companies spent $400 billion on capital expenditures in the last year, mostly for data centers
  • The largest AI data centers can use as much power as a million American homes
  • Data centers are measured by power demands rather than square footage because power is what truly defines their scale
  • Electricity demand in the US was flat for a long time but is now seeing big growth primarily because of data centers
  • Tech companies are scouring the country for large plots of land with available power, good transmission lines, and communities that want them
" In the last year, just four companies, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft spent $400 billion on capital expenditures. And most of that is data centers. "
" The largest AI data centers could use as much power as a million American homes. "

St. Joseph County's Initial Welcome to Big Tech

St. Joseph County, Indiana—a primarily agricultural region that had lost automotive jobs decades ago—saw its first major data center project arrive in May 2023 when Amazon partnered with the local utility to build an $11 billion AI facility for the startup Anthropic. The county's economic development office embraced the project as a source of tax revenue, jobs, and participation in the future economy. With minimal local debate, the county council approved it with only two opposing votes, and Amazon quickly erected dozens of buildings with thousands of workers on site within a year.

  • St. Joseph County went from having no data centers to tens of billions of dollars flowing in over just two years
  • The utility matched Amazon with available land in May 2023, presenting an $11 billion project opportunity
  • Amazon built this flagship AI data center for Anthropic to train next-generation AI models
  • Within a year, Amazon had about a dozen buildings up with thousands of workers on site daily
  • Hotels filled up and occupancy taxes flowed back to the county while apprenticeship programs doubled in size
" The Economic Development Office sees this as a great project. It is enormous. It's $11 billion at least. And from that, they see a source of tax revenue. They see it as a great jobs producer, particularly during construction, and just a way of using their land and resources to be part of this future economy that we all hear about, that this technology is the future. "

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