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According to a recent Marquette Law School poll, 71% of Americans believe the costs associated with data centers outweigh their benefits, up from 62% in January. Meanwhile, AI usage is on the rise, with 69% of respondents reporting they used an AI application in the past month. However, despite increased use, a majority (64%) view AI's development negatively, including 56% of those who actually use it. The poll also highlights concerns about data centers' high water and electricity usage, contributing to their unpopularity among Americans compared to other industrial developments.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
According to a Marquette Law School poll, 71% of Americans believe the costs of data centers exceed their benefits, up from 62% in January. This skepticism has grown alongside increased AI usage; 69% reported using AI applications within the past month, rising from 61% in April. Despite this uptick in usage, a majority (64%) view AI's development as harmful to society, while 36% see it positively. Among those who actually use AI, 56% consider its societal impact negative, compared to 44% who are optimistic. Lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar have responded with legislation proposing a ban on artificial superintelligence and a temporary halt in advanced AI development until safety regulations are set.
Written for “American Attitudes on AI” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 17048 · logged 2026-09-18
A growing share of Americans are using artificial intelligence while expressing skepticism about both the technology and the massive data centers being built to power it.
asserted
share → grow → it
Seventy-one percent of the public said the costs of data centers outweigh their benefits, compared with just 29% who said the benefits outweigh the costs, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.
uncertain
benefits → say → poll
The share saying the costs outweigh the benefits has increased from 62% in January, as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has drawn scrutiny over its impact on local communities.
asserted
expansion → say → communities
At the same time, AI use is becoming increasingly common.
asserted
use → become → time
Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they had used an AI application within the previous month, up from 61% in April.
asserted
they → say → April
Yet 64% said the development of AI is bad for society, compared with 36% who said it is a good thing.
asserted
it → say → %
Even among people who use AI, skepticism outweighs optimism: 56% of AI users said the technology is bad for society, while 44% said it is good.
asserted
it → use → society
Among those who do not use AI, 81% said its development is bad for society.
asserted
development → use → society
The disconnect comes as concerns about AI have become a hot topic in recent weeks.
asserted
concerns → come → weeks
Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon publicly resigned and accused AI companies of “gambling with our lives.”
asserted
Coxon → resign → lives
Then, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the industry to deliberately slow the development of frontier AI, a position backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
asserted
industry → call → Altman
The debate has also moved into Washington.
asserted
debate → move → Washington
President Donald Trump has advocated a largely pro-development approach to AI, while lawmakers from both parties have pushed competing proposals for greater safeguards.
asserted
lawmakers → advocate → safeguards
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), for example, have announced legislation that would permanently ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence and temporarily pause advanced AI development until federal safety rules are established.
asserted
rules → announce → development
Those broader concerns appear to overlap with the public’s more immediate worries about the infrastructure required to run AI.
asserted
concerns → appear → AI
Fifty-four percent of respondents identified high water use as one of the most important costs of data centers, while 51% cited higher electricity costs.
asserted
% → identify → costs
Data centers have garnered backlash in communities across the country for their impact on water supplies and energy prices, prompting lawmakers at all levels to call for a pause on data center development.
asserted
centers → garner → development
Data centers were also the least popular of five large industrial or commercial developments respondents were asked about.
asserted
respondents → ask → developments
Twelve percent said they would like to see a data center built in their area, compared with 31% for a semiconductor fabrication plant, 26% for an automobile manufacturing plant, and 26% for an e-commerce fulfillment center.
asserted
center → say → center
Forty-four percent said they would not want any of the five types of development in their area.
asserted
they → say → area
The Marquette Law School survey was conducted Sept. 2 through 9 among 1,023 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
asserted
survey → conduct → points
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