A protester in Provo, Utah, on October 7. Clover Infrastructure co-founder Brian Janous said that if AI data center developers could frame their projects like oil field developments and generously share the massive future profits with local communities, the grassroots resistance to AI data centers in the United States could be substantially reduced.

In the United States, public opposition to AI data center construction has surged dramatically and has become a hot-button issue animating the November 3 midterm elections. A poll found that 61% of likely voters oppose new data center construction. Reports indicate that at least 550 state and local jurisdictions across the country have enacted moratoriums on data center construction. As a result, politicians in both red and blue states are scrambling to take a tough stance on such projects to win votes. Janous, who himself runs a data center development company, made these remarks at a data center forum. He proposed that cloud providers and data center developers should let local communities share in the enormous profits generated over the coming decades. According to a McKinsey report titled "The Data Center Dividend," cumulative investment in U.S. AI data center construction will approach $3 trillion by 2030.

Janous cited Alaska oil development as a precedent: since the 1970s, oil companies have paid dividends to state residents, letting them share in the revenues from North Slope oil fields. In oil-producing countries such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the revenue-sharing ratios are even higher, with Western oil companies required to hand over 80% of profits to the host country. Pragmatic oil industry veterans do not view such expenditures as charitable donations, but rather as a necessary cost of maintaining stability. Oil field projects can generate hundreds of billions of dollars in profits over a 30-year operating cycle, making payments to local communities a worthwhile expense.

Technology companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have been publicizing the benefits that data centers bring to local areas, but they have only set aside tens of millions of dollars for supporting programs such as employee training and community recreation centers. Even the largest cases remain limited in scale: Amazon pledged this month to invest $1 billion over the next five years in the communities where its data centers are located. A related case also emerged in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania: Missouri-based industrial developer NorthPoint Development proposed paying $10,000 to each local household in exchange for residents' support for a data center project.

Janous believes these approaches fall far short. "The community must genuinely feel that welcoming a data center is like winning the lottery," he said. "I would compare it to the old company towns. Local residents should sincerely feel: 'Anthropic came to our area, and our community is genuinely better off.'"

Public attitudes toward data centers have reversed very rapidly: over the past year, grievances centered on soaring electricity bills, water consumption, dust, and noise. In recent months, these frustrations have directly spawned moratoriums in various localities. Many industry practitioners believe that public resistance also stems from anxiety about AI itself: top AI company executives keep issuing alarming predictions, including that AI could lead to human extinction. The wave of opposition is global. South Korea, Singapore, Finland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and many other countries have seen voices resisting new data center construction, with some areas directly imposing bans. Enchanted Rock Chief Commercial Officer Allan Schurr explained that his company builds microgrids for data centers waiting for grid interconnection. He proposed that, against the backdrop of continually deteriorating grid reliability in many places, developers could share electricity with communities in exchange for local acceptance of projects. Another forum guest, Delta Electronics Vice President of Energy Infrastructure William Mao, said that during major disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, data centers can export power. "Data center power can be dispatched to help stabilize the public grid." Schurr also said the industry is taking action to prevent projects from shifting burdens onto local areas. "As far as I know, no data center company wants its project to run at a loss and drag down the local area."

Of course, cloud companies find it difficult to directly promise massive dividends because it remains uncertain when their investments will become profitable. But the oil industry faces the same situation: oil field investments also take years to generate returns. Oil companies typically wait until the capital investment in oil field development has been fully recouped before distributing profits to host countries, a cycle that can last up to ten years. But Janous stressed that the social mindset behind the AI construction boom must change, because local communities are already resentful. "A lot of public anxiety comes from this thought: 'What exactly do we get out of this? These projects will only make tech giants even richer — can we get a share of the benefits too?'"