Poll: Americans Are Getting Worried About AI's Environmental Cost

Americans have grown more concerned about the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence over the last year, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. The poll found that 53% of Americans are "extremely" or "very" concerned about AI's environmental impacts. That's up from 41% last year. Democrats are driving much of the increase in environmental concern, but the poll also reveals broader worries about the local impact of data centers, which power AI and cloud computing, the AP reports.

• "We're undertaking a massive experiment in real time, and I don't think there'll be any putting the milk back in the bottle. Change is scary, and I think some of that is being reflected here," said Michael Greenstone, who directs the University of Chicago institute that collaborated on the survey.

There are thousands of data centers in the US with construction planned for more. Those include smaller, conventional centers that have been around for decades, as well as larger hyperscale ones that are being built to serve artificial intelligence's added processing needs. Virginia and Texas have the most facilities currently in operation, and other top contenders include California, Ohio, and New York. While 87% of existing data centers are in urban areas, most new data centers are planned for rural areas, according to a Pew Research Center analysis from earlier this year. "I think that decisions are being made for the company, not for the community that they're being built in," says Nancy Antunes, a 60-year-old retired Democrat from Waltham, Massachusetts.

• While concerns about environmental impacts are higher among Democrats, there is a broad sense of wariness about a rapid data center boom. About 6 in 10 Americans support limiting the number of new data centers that can be built, including most Democrats and Republicans.

• A majority of Americans are "extremely" or "very" concerned about the impact of data centers on electricity prices or the water supply in the communities where they are built.
• About two-thirds of US adults support requiring data centers to use clean energy sources, such as wind or solar, to supply their electricity needs. Around 8 in 10 Democrats support this, along with 56% of Republicans.
• About two-thirds of Democrats say they are "extremely" or "very" concerned about how AI will affect the environment, the poll found, up from about half in 2025. By contrast, about half of independents and about 4 in 10 Republicans are highly concerned about the environmental impact of AI.
• About a quarter of US adults say data centers are "extremely" or "very" beneficial when it comes to technological advancement, and about 2 in 10 say the same about job creation. Many US adults say data centers are "somewhat" beneficial or aren't sure, while about one-quarter say they're "not very" or "not at all" beneficial for technological advancement, and about a third don't see a benefit for job creation. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see data centers' benefits. But about 3 in 10 Republicans still think the centers are "not very" or "not at all" beneficial for improved infrastructure and job creation.