Artificial Intelligence

A.I. NIMBYs

Plus: Bitcoin tolls at the Strait, Trump vs. MAGA, inflation rises, and more...

Peter Suderman | 4.10.2026 9:30 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Data center backlash. It appears likely that Maine will temporarily ban data centers. State legislators gave a thumbs up to bill text that would prohibit new construction on data centers in the state until November 2027. The bill is set to pass in the next few days.  

Not surprisingly, tech companies and the local business community oppose the measure—and with good reason. "Things are going so fast. There's a race against other countries," Glenn Adams, who has built data centers in multiple states, told CNBC. "If Maine says 'no,' we're saying no to all these companies, to potential developers and investors, and they can quite quickly go somewhere else."

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From Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) to Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.), there has been a fair amount of high-profile backlash against data centers recently. Populists on the left and the right are lining up to make data centers and artificial intelligence a political punching bag. 

Breaking Points' @esaagar says AI companies are "fighting against a very, very big force" in the US.

"There's this rising populist tide against the data center movement. And against Abundance-style assurances from politicians and companies."

"Something is happening. The........

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