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On with Kara SwisherEverything you’ve been wondering about data centers, explained
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At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Why AI data centers are sparking backlash over water, power, secrecy
- Kara Swisher moderates a panel on why data centers—especially those tied to the AI boom—are triggering widespread, bipartisan local backlash across the U.S.
- Panelists describe recurring patterns of secrecy, NDAs, and shell entities that leave residents feeling blindsided and excluded from zoning, permitting, and cost decisions.
- The discussion emphasizes that environmental impacts aren’t limited to a facility’s footprint, highlighting water quality/quantity concerns, off-site water used for power generation, air pollution tradeoffs, and constant operational noise.
- Several speakers argue that the most serious stakes are grid reliability and who pays for expanded generation and transmission, with concerns that costs and risks are being shifted onto ratepayers.
- The panel debates what “responsible” development could look like, including demand flexibility, paying for infrastructure, transparent reporting, and enforceable guardrails—while also questioning whether the right answer is simply requiring less compute and slowing down.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasSecrecy and NDAs are portrayed as a core driver of backlash.
Multiple panelists describe communities learning about projects late—often via shell companies or nondisclosure agreements—then discovering construction impacts and long-term operational burdens after key decisions were already made.
There are “two water stories”: on-site water use and power-generation water use.
A speaker explains that water impacts include both the data center’s own cooling needs and the water used to generate the electricity that powers the facility—an angle they say is often minimized in public messaging.
AI is changing data centers’ scale and siting logic, intensifying local conflict.
Logan describes a shift in scale from earlier 10–50 MW facilities to proposals in the hundreds of megawatts and even gigawatts, and distinguishes between training-focused sites and low-latency “inference” sites closer to population centers.
Panelists frame grid reliability as a national risk—not just a local nuisance.
Elena argues the biggest missed concern is grid risk, citing an event where gigawatts “jumped off the grid” when data centers removed themselves, nearly destabilizing a wide region; Erin adds that many more such facilities could overwhelm “antiquated infrastructure.”
Even “responsible” proposals can get swept up in wider distrust and anger.
Andy describes attempting a “do it right” approach in Lansing: no tax incentives, commitments to local ordinances, closed-loop cooling, and developer-paid infrastructure/community benefits—yet the project still faced broad opposition after a hyperscale proposal nearby.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesWhat is happening in Virginia is literally the canary in the coal mine.
— Elena Schlossberg
This is an absolute runaway train, and it is probably one of the biggest conversations that I've ever seen in my 30 years in my career that is political.
— Unattributed
We are decision-makers, and when you decide for somebody, they, they're like, "Of course you did. I'm right." And when you decide against somebody, they say, "You suck, and you're not listening to me."
— Andy Schor
Clear, fair rules aren't the enemy of growth. They protect responsible growth.
— Unattributed
We're in between here, The Flintstones and The Jetsons, and, uh, the people have suddenly become the gladiators.
— Unattributed
SPEAKERS
Elena Schlossberg
guestVirginia-based grassroots organizer and former middle-school counselor focused on data-center development impacts and oversight.
Kara Swisher
hostJournalist and host of the podcast "On with Kara Swisher."
Andy Schor
guestMayor of Lansing, Michigan, discussing municipal policy and guardrails around proposed data centers.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
