OpenAI is mounting a public relations offensive to rehabilitate the image of data centers as opposition moves from town halls to the ballot box.
The company behind ChatGPT is proposing a new term for the facilities: “compute campuses.”
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"Compute campuses better describes the scale and role of the infrastructure we're building for AI," an OpenAI spokesperson told Business Insider. "These are long-term investments in computing, energy infrastructure and skilled work."
OpenAI is one of the main drivers of the nationwide data center boom. It plans to spend around $750B on computing infrastructure through 2030, including a $20B project in Savannah, Georgia, it secured the power for in July. The company is reportedly preparing to go public as soon as early next year in what would be one of the biggest initial public offerings ever.
Its rebrand of data centers is the latest move to counter intensifying public resistance. Data center developers and artificial intelligence companies have already attempted to win over skeptics by offering large community benefit packages and increasing transparency.
Still, backlash against data centers has cost developers and hyperscalers billions, with at least $68B of investments halted or blocked in the second quarter alone. Many of those opposition efforts were spurred by grassroots activists.
Now, even more dollars are at risk as more than 40 data center-related measures go to a vote in the midterm elections Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Ballotpedia data. The results put at least $100B of proposed projects in the crosshairs.
The measures range from outright bans to zoning changes and stricter requirements for community involvement in the planning process. Experts say that the results of local elections will likely be more significant for data center developers than the high-profile contest for which party will control Congress.
Across the country, candidates have positioned themselves as attack dogs against the industry, further putting data center developers on edge.
Overall, 73% of voters say they would oppose the building of an AI data center in their community, according to a Quinnipiac University poll published Sept. 29. Broken down by party, 55% of Republicans, 85% of Democrats and 76% of independents oppose the idea.
"Data centers, not long ago just the vague description for a network of massive structures needed for an emerging industry, are now the subject of the 'NIMBY' rallying cry," Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said in the report. "Voters overwhelmingly are saying 'not in my back yard.'"
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