By Isla Binnie and Arasu Kannagi Basil
NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Blackstone is working to address the societal and environmental implications of artificial intelligence development, CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Thursday, as opposition to data center construction mounts in the U.S. Blackstone and other private capital firms are pouring tens of billions of dollars into businesses and infrastructure that aim to increase compute capacity and run power-hungry models.
But the otherwise deeply divided American electorate is united across party lines when confronted by the pace of data center construction, and only 14% would support one being built in their community for technology firms, according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Blackstone is working closely with portfolio companies including data-center businesses "to address the workforce, environmental and community implications of development through the creation of union jobs, workforce training, water-free cooling systems, expanded power generation and significant local economic investment," Schwarzman said on a conference call.
While the impact of AI could echo the industrial revolution, which eventually raised living standards, Schwarzman said, "Major change of this type also creates anxiety due to the uncertainty of how the technology will evolve." Data-center operator QTS, which Blackstone took private for $10 billion in 2021, said earlier this month that it had terminated a project in Virginia after years of planning. The project had faced strong local opposition and litigation, despite being approved by county authorities.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration sees AI development as a race against China, but is also working to shield households from an attendant rise in energy costs.
Schwarzman, a longtime Trump donor, said he had personally been "spending a lot of time with leaders in the industry and various policymakers thinking about how to address these critical issues, while also preserving the advance of America's AI leadership."
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Nia Williams)