71% of Americans oppose local data centers: the humanism driving the anti-AI movement
abhiadesai · x · 2026-10-10
A New Yorker essay by Becca Rothfeld examines the humanist roots of the anti-AI movement: 71% of Americans oppose local data-center construction and 69% are concerned about AI's role in society; NBC polling even found AI less popular than ICE, Trump, or Vance.
At Washington's Pro-Human Assembly, attendees talked less about jobs and policy and more about life philosophy — the core fear being that AI arrives too early in young people's lives and may stop them from growing into fully fledged humans, an existential threat of a different kind. Examples include students booing AI mentions at commencements and the 'AI24' backlash against A24's DeepMind partnership.
Reposter abhiadesai pushes back, arguing the stance reflects a lack of imagination compared to grander futures like space travel or mind uploading.
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