Ed Zitron: How Voter Backlash Against Data Centers Exposes the AI Bubble's Fault Lines

Ed Zitron argues that US midterm election results have exposed a vulnerability in the AI bubble: voters in multiple states and municipalities backed restrictions on data center construction. He cites 33 ballot measures to restrict data centers, 21 Ohio municipalities voting for restrictions, and 12 states where the winning or leading gubernatorial candidate called for a pause on data center development. He contends that NVIDIA's growth and the growth stories of AI labs depend on an unimpeded data center buildout, and that the industry assumed it could expand without the consent of the communities affected.