R-E-S-P-E-C-T is the only way for AI advocates to deal with data center haters

The rapid backlash to data centers and artificial intelligence has taken many in the tech and finance worlds by surprise. Understandable. Only a few short years ago, states and municipalities were competing with each other to lure data center developers, dangling tax incentives for projects they thought would create jobs and generate tax revenue. The sudden reversal in public opinion has whipsawed politicians as it has business people. The politicians, though, have reacted to the new political reality far more quickly than have the business people. Gov. JB Pritzker in June suspended state tax breaks for data centers that had been in effect since 2020, with 27 data centers built since then that collectively have saved nearly $1 billion in taxes via the incentives. Pritzker’s idea was to slow data center growth and give Springfield time to pass comprehensive new regulations for the industry. In other parts of the country, state policymakers are going yet further, pursuing clawbacks of tax breaks already given to developers, according to The Wall Street Journal. So how are industry represe