Show Notes
Further proof — in case you need it — that AI data centers aren't very popular: A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows 60% of Americans aren't comfortable welcoming one to the neighborhood.
And concerns have grown since the beginning of the year across every demographic group, making the backlash a key issue in the midterm elections. Scott Brennen, director of NYU's Center on Technology Policy, recently published a report on how data centers could better work with communities.
“Americans’ views of data centers have turned more negative” from Pew Research Center
“Collective Goods but Local Harms: How Data Centers Can Earn Community Support” from Center on Technology Policy
“Residents voice concerns as Hobart City Council approves Amazon data center” from WGN9
“More Americans concerned about AI, even as it drives economy” from Marketplace
More from Marketplace Tech
Apple's long-awaited iPhone Duo launched this week, and everyone has the same question: can you see a crease? Joanna Stern, founder of media company New Things, has been putting it to the test for her newsletter. She's tried apps, phone calls, cameras. But, she really wanted to know if the much-hyped folding phone would stand the test of time. She hired a hardware designer to build a machine that opened and closed the iPhone Duo over and over while she slept — more than 32,000 times. Stern joins joins Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino on this week’s “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”
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You might say the 2026 midterms are the first big AI election. The technology has become a key political issue, it’s a significant source of fundraising and it’s also helping power campaign ads.