US poll finds rising concern over AI’s local environmental costs
A survey of 3,424 adults found concern about artificial intelligence’s environmental impact has risen from 41 per cent last year to 53 per cent.
More than half of surveyed US adults said they were extremely or very concerned about artificial intelligence’s environmental impacts, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press, the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.
The August survey found 53 per cent expressed high concern, up from 41 per cent last year. Respondents were also highly concerned that data centres supporting AI and cloud computing could affect electricity prices and water supplies in the communities where they are built.
The findings measure public perceptions rather than verified changes in local costs, water availability or emissions. The poll’s supplied results do not include its margin of error, sampling method or full question wording.
Concern was higher among Democrats than independents and Republicans. The reported breakdown found about two-thirds of Democrats expressing high concern, compared with half of independents and four in 10 Republicans.
The United States has thousands of data centres, with construction continuing to meet demand for AI processing. Virginia and Texas reportedly have the most operating facilities, followed by California, Ohio and New York.
Experts cited in the reporting said data centres’ water use may be modest nationally but significant in particular communities, where water is used to cool chips and computers. The poll reflects growing anxiety over how decisions about digital infrastructure may affect local resources and household costs.
