The Department of Defense’s leasing of land to private companies for artificial intelligence server farms is drawing bipartisan scrutiny from lawmakers worried about the impact on military installations and surrounding communities.
The Pentagon is building data centers to supercharge its war tactics with drone swarms and other technologies powered by AI. Members of Congress — including a senior Republican appropriator — are trying to check that effort before it accelerates any further.
“As we enter the period of AI, which requires very serious data centers, data facilities, that are extraordinary consumers of both energy and water, the question arises as to whether they should be on military bases,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) said last month after proposing a sweeping amendment to the House’s version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.