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ill Maine become the first US state to adopt a moratorium suspending the construction of new data centers? The bill is "on my desk. I’m going to read it. Read it very carefully," Democratic Governor Janet Mills said on Friday, April 17, as she weighed whether to approve it, according to NBC. At least 11 other states are considering similar local laws that would impose a pause on the development of these infrastructures, which are vital for artificial intelligence (AI). Other bills aim to cap electricity and water consumption by these data centers or to remove their tax incentives. At the federal level, two prominent left-wing lawmakers, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have introduced legislation that would impose a nationwide moratorium.
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Ireland, striving to become Europe's data center hub, falls victim to its own success
These initiatives are clear signals: AI faces a growing backlash from part of the population. In the United States, New Brunswick, a small town near New York, made headlines by rejecting the construction of a data center after a grassroots citizen protest. NBC News reported, on March 10, a poll showing that 57% of Americans surveyed believed the risks of AI outweigh its benefits, while 34% thought the opposite. According to the survey, 26% had a positive view of the technology and 46% held a negative opinion.
