Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Meta President Dina Powell McCormick Warns Midterm Backlash Could Make AI Data Centers Harder
“‘I think it’s going to be harder,’ Powell McCormick said”
“some political opponents remain interested in investment.”
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Dina Powell McCormick warned midterm backlash will make building new data centers harder. US voters backed restrictions on data center development in the midterms.
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Election pressure on buildout
Meta President Dina Powell McCormick warned after the U.S. midterm elections that building new data centers would become harder, saying she was speaking at the WSJ Tech conference on November 4.
“Powell McCormick said getting data centers built was ‘going to be harder’ following the elections.”
Meta’s data center backlash then turned into a practical question for AI expansion, because a company can secure financing and computing equipment while still facing resistance over land, electricity, and water.
Powell McCormick told the WSJ Tech conference that getting data centers built was “going to be harder” following the elections, while she also expressed greater confidence in expanding existing sites.
The Nasdaq Composite slid 5.46% on Wall Street and entered correction territory, as investors weighed the potential impact of a Democratic victory in the U.S. Congress on investments in data centers and the tech sector.
The tech index fell 5.46% to close at 24,315.02, and it pushed the index more than 10% below its record high reached on October 6.
Communities, NDAs, and votes
OpenAI announced new commitments to communities where it is working on data center projects, including that it won’t use non-disclosure agreements with public officials. OpenAI is now allowing “only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information.” Voters across the US backed restrictions on data center development in Tuesday’s midterm elections, and a total of 41 local measures concerning data centers appeared on ballots across 10 states.
Alhambra, California, saw about 82% of voters support a measure prohibiting data center construction throughout the city, while Edgewater, Florida, saw 77% back a ban on the approval, construction, expansion and operation of new facilities. Voters on Tuesdayapproveddata center restrictions or bans in at least 38 jurisdictions, and nearly 80% of voters chose to restrict data center expansion.
What comes next for AI
Investors and analysts tied the backlash to uncertainty about the future of investments in semiconductors, servers, and AI-related services, and Alcanzando el Conocimiento said the decline spread to companies including Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet. Nvidia fell 9.3% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped 17.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 4.32% and closed at 7,353.65 points. The data center sector’s power demand is projected to increase by 97 gigawatts between 2025 and 2030, and by 2030 global data center capacity could reach 200 gigawatts.
Goldman warned the election results could lead to restrictions affecting roughly 45% of planned US data center expansion, and it argued that making new data centers harder to build could strengthen Amazon, Google, and Microsoft while squeezing smaller rivals. If there is a slowdown in data center expansion and lower capex, growth could slow down.