This is not a politics podcast. It’s important to acknowledge that if you do compliance work, and anyone in technology does at some level, policy is the outcome of politics, and we do track policy. So it’s important to note that per some reporting in the Washington Post, The emergence of data centers is becoming a significant electoral issue, alarming local communities as they grapple with the implications of expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure. Recent developments show that opposition to these projects is rising across the political spectrum, as residents express concerns about their impact on local environments and economies. In Coweta, Oklahoma, for instance, Allen Prather spearheaded a petition drive against a proposed data center adjacent to his property. This reflects a growing trend where community members are mobilizing to voice their concerns over such developments, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive dialogue on the balance between technological advancement and community welfare. The Washington Post reports that this backlash is not isolated, indicating a wider movement that could reshape local governance and policy regarding data infrastructure.
I’ll also highlight that a growing wave of dissatisfaction with artificial intelligence among Americans creates a political opportunity for the Democratic Party. Recent polling indicates that 80 percent of American adults believe the government should regulate AI, even at the cost of slower technological advancement. The Pew Research Center found that only 17 percent of Americans anticipate a positive impact from AI over the next 20 years. This sentiment is prompting Democratic leaders, including Senator Bernie Sanders, to adopt a more vocal anti-AI stance, as they recognize the potential for populist mobilization against large tech companies amid rising concerns over job losses and energy costs. The urgency to address these fears is heightened by the reality that many voters, spanning various economic backgrounds, feel threatened by the rapid advancement of AI technologies.
Why do we care?
This is why we track policy without turning this into a politics show.
AI doesn’t exist in the cloud. It exists in buildings, on land, drawing power, using water, and asking communities to accept tradeoffs. And communities are starting to say, “Wait—what’s in this for us?”
When voters are skeptical of AI and local governments are under pressure, approvals slow, costs rise, and assumptions break. That doesn’t stay at the hyperscaler level. It shows up as higher prices, tighter capacity, and delayed features that MSPs are expected to explain to clients.
The most dangerous behavior right now is pretending AI is just software. It’s infrastructure. Infrastructure has neighbors. Neighbors vote.
This matters now because MSPs are making multi-year bets—on AI platforms, on service models, on client promises. If those bets assume unlimited, cheap, and politically frictionless compute, they are already outdated.
The smart move is not to avoid AI. It’s to stop treating its growth as inevitable and uncontested. The moment you do that, your strategy gets more realistic—and your clients are better protected.