Blaming China for Datacenter NIMBYism Is Cope
ChinaTalk Jordan Schneider
The article argues that while China has conducted influence operations against U.S. datacenters, blaming foreign propaganda for community opposition is misleading and ignores legitimate local concerns that can be addressed through financial incentives. Major AI companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta plan to spend $725 billion on capex in 2026, with $500 billion domestically, giving them substantial resources to compensate communities. The author proposes datacenter operators could resolve resistance by offering annual payments to residents (such as $10,000 per person for 3.8% of revenue), investing in local schools, or building community amenities like pickleball courts, rather than the token $10 million commitment OpenAI announced for Stargate.
Why it matters
Instead, just pay people to love them
