Americans’ views on the Impact of AI and Data Centers

Americans are more concerned about the environmental impacts of AI than other threats, and their concern is increasing

 With data centers that power artificial intelligence (AI) expected to be a major source of energy and emissions, the poll asked how concerned Americans are about the environmental impact of AI in comparison to other industries associated with emitting high amounts of greenhouse gases. It found most Americans (78 percent) are at least somewhat concerned about the environmental impact of AI, and 53 percent are extremely or very concerned compared to 41 percent in 2025. That’s an 11-point increase in just one year, while the other industries saw very little year-to-year change. Young Americans (18-29) are the most concerned age bracket (60 percent).

Half of Americans believe AI will do more to hurt than help society, with a growing number saying it will hurt the environment in particular

About half of Americans believe that AI will do more to hurt than help society as a whole. Four in 10 feel that AI will do more to hurt the economy and 3 in 10 feel that AI will do more to hurt them personally. While they held similar beliefs about whether AI will do more to hurt them personally last year, they have grown more pessimistic around the economy, society as a whole, and the environment. In 2025, a third of Americans believed AI would hurt the environment. Now, it is closer to half. Young adults remain the most pessimistic about AI’s impact on the environment, as do Democrats.

The majority of Americans are concerned about how data centers will impact their communities, and few see benefits

Americans’ AI concerns center largely around data centers, with more data centers being built throughout the country. Data centers are expected to use a lot of power, and Americans are concerned they’ll be paying higher electricity prices (63 percent) and experiencing more power outages (53 percent). Americans are similarly concerned that data centers will impact local water supplies (57 percent) since the centers use water to keep cool. Though Democrats are more concerned than Republicans, about half of Republicans share power outage and water supply concerns, with 58 percent concerned about electricity prices. There are no differences in levels of concern between urban, suburban and rural communities even though more data centers are being planned in rural areas. At the same time, few Americans see benefits in data centers.

The majority of Americans from both parties want to limit the building of new data centers, and require data centers to use clean energy and pay for grid upgrades

While the Trump administration has made swift data center construction a priority, Americans from both parties largely agree that there should be stronger policies that protect communities from potential economic and environmental harms. The majority of Americans want to limit the building of new data centers, and require data centers to use clean energy and pay for grid upgrades—all rules passed or being considered in several states. Majorities of both Democrats and Republicans support all of these policies, and respondents from the two parties are strongly aligned on requiring data centers to pay for grid upgrades. There is less support for restricting the construction of new natural gas power for data centers, even as some stateshave blocked gas-dependent data centers from being built.