Willie Nelson is fighting data centers near his Texas hometown: 'The last thing we need'

Americans opposing AI information center building tin officially count superstar activistic Willie Nelson arsenic an ally.

Nelson criticized the hefty accommodation successful an Instagram station connected Tuesday. He said residents successful his hometown of Abbott, Texas — for illustration elsewhere successful the state — must defy them. Although Virginia is the information halfway capitol of the US, Texas has go a basking spot owed to disposable land, imaginable taxation breaks, and entree to the energy grid.

"The past point we request is simply a loud, h2o thieving, ray polluting, information halfway anyplace adjacent our municipality (or immoderate others for that matter)," he said.

Nelson said it's imperative that agrarian communities successful America aren't displaced by information centers, which galore of those successful the AI manufacture opportunity are captious to the country's early economical growth.

"The spot of agrarian America has ne'er travel from large business footprints. It comes from generations of people, unfastened spaces, section businesses, and a relationship to the land," Nelson wrote. "All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn't bargain farmland (where our basal shared-food is grown) and mini family farmers' livelihoods, and not information centers that only destruct the situation astir them."

Nelson besides called connected Americans to protect their resources.

"Whoever controls nutrient and water, controls the masses. Let's not let our ain demise aliases springiness up power complete basal resources successful the US and particularly successful Abbott," Nelson wrote.

For tech companies for illustration Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, AI information centers are essential. The facilities, which tin costs billions of dollars and span hundreds of acres, powerfulness their AI products. President Donald Trump's management has broadly supported information halfway building by accelerating national permitting and backing the $500 cardinal Stargate Project.

However, galore Americans — including Nelson — are pushing back.

Critics interest that AI information centers, which are overmuch larger than those that shop societal media aliases website data, could worsen the environment, raise inferior bills, and trim their value of life. Across the country, Americans person staged protests, called retired section leaders, and taken ineligible action to extremity information halfway construction.

Politicians are taking notice. Some lawmakers person imposed restrictions, temporary moratoriums, aliases outright bans connected information halfway construction. New York became the first authorities to enact a moratorium connected AI information centers earlier this month. Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders person called for a nationwide national moratorium.

Although Nelson is the latest personage to lambast information centers, he's not the only one. Country euphony prima Brad Paisley joined Americans successful protesting a projected information halfway adjacent the Nashville Zoo.