By Kristian Knutsen
Publication Date: 2026-01-13 17:14:00
It won’t be easy for Big Tech companies to win the hearts and minds of Americans who are angered about massive artificial intelligence data centers sprouting up in their neighborhoods, straining electricity grids and drawing on local reservoirs.
Microsoft is trying anyway.
The software giant’s president, Brad Smith, is meeting with federal lawmakers on Jan. 13 to push forward an approach that calls for the industry, not taxpayers, to pay the full costs of the vast network of computing warehouses needed to power AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s own Copilot.
President Donald Trump gave Microsoft’s effort a nod in a Truth Social post on Jan. 12, where he stated that he does not want Americans to “pick up the tab” for these data centers and pay higher utility costs.
“Local communities naturally want to see new jobs but not at the expense of higher electricity prices or the diversion of their…
