The Utah project was approved by Box Elder County commissioners on Monday, despite protests from community members. Developers hope to begin early work on the site in the fall.
Backers of the data center, including Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, say that the project will boost the local economy and that increasing America’s computing and energy production capacity is crucial for national security. But residents are calling for more time and more information to evaluate its impact on the already fragile local ecosystem.
The conflict is, in some ways, a microcosm of the larger AI debate. While wealthy builders make lofty promises about the technology’s benefits, many individuals worry about the consequences of the race to build a world-changing technology they may not want and have little say in.
“I love what technology can give us, but Big Tech has shown us that they are not accountable,” said Caroline Gleich, an environmental advocate and resident of nearby Park City, Utah. “It’s very concerning and difficult to be a proponent of this, with the amount of land, energy and the impacts to our communities, without guardrails, accountability and transparency.”
A group of Box Elder voters this week applied to add a referendum to the local ballot in November to overturn the county commission’s approval of the project, County Clerk Marla Young confirmed to CNN. The application, earlier reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, is now undergoing legal review and would need more than 5,000 signatures for the referendum to appear on the ballot.
imilar protests are occurring around the country, with some communities seeking to ban data centers. Developers are now scrambling to address those public concerns, fearing that a slowdown in progress could dent America’s competitiveness in AI.
“The potential of what we’re creating is so important for defense, for the economy,” O’Leary told CNN on Friday. “It should be, for everybody, a mission. We can’t let the Chinese beat us.”
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