When people use ChatGPT, few stop to wonder where the AI answering them actually is. The technology feels almost weightless, as if it exists somewhere beyond the screen in “the cloud.”
But the cloud has an address. It sits inside enormous data centers built on the edges of suburbs and rural towns, where thousands of servers consume electricity around the clock. Some facilities also require significant amounts of water for cooling, while fans, transformers and other infrastructure keep running 24 hours a day.
Across the United States, a growing number of communities are now saying they do not want those giant boxes in their backyard. And the dispute is no longer limited to environmental protests. Some of the residents who fought data center projects are now running for local office — or have already won seats.