technology ·
Did a data centre revolt affect the US mid-term election results?
BBC Verify has looked at its role in the campaign and examined the potential consequences for the AI industry.
The poll for AP and a consortium of news organisations found 56% of surveyed voters said data centres were a "crucial or major" factor in their vote, while 76% said they would oppose the construction of a new data centre in their community. The hostile sentiment was considerably stronger among those who said they voted Democrat at this election.
This follows other recent Pew Research polling, external which suggested about half of Americans think data centres are "mostly bad" for the environment, home energy costs and quality of life, a big deterioration in favourability since January. The congressional voter poll results certainly suggest a remarkable degree of salience for a subject which likely would not have been on most Americans' radar five years ago. Still, it is some way behind several key issues people considered "crucial or major factors" in their vote, including government corruption (90%) and the cost of living (89%).
