Amazon writes scary blog warning communities not to block data centers

Amazon is calling for people to support AI data center projects, or risk irreparable harm to the US economy and national security. In a more than 3,000 word blog posted today, Amazon web services CEO Matt Garman pushed back on public concerns around the impact that data centers may have on jobs, power demands, and the environment, saying “our nation can’t afford to lose” the race for AI dominance.

“With any change, there will be important questions raised, but there will also be misinformation and outright lies, and in the age of social media and 24/7 news, myths take hold faster than ever before,” said Garman. “In fact, this build out is so important geopolitically that there are widespread reports of various countries intentionally seeding misinformation in the US about data centers to trick us into slowing down.”

This comes as support for AI data centers has plummeted in polls, and face increasing backlash from the US communities where they’re being built, with nationwide concerns growing over AI safety and what impact the technology will have on society if left unchecked.

“Right now there are over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country,” said Garman. “If these measures are enacted, the US could be writing its own losing ticket to this race, and the consequences would last generations.”

The lengthy memorandum includes a list of practices that Amazon is codifying under a “Data Center Commitment,” around things like creating jobs, preventing increases to local energy rates, and pledging to invest more than $1 billion to support communities that neighbor its data centers. Additionally, Amazon says it no longer uses nondisclosure agreements with government agencies, after Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin probed tech companies about the secret deals with local officials.

In an interview about the nondisclosure agreements reported by the Wall Street Journal, Amazon chief global affairs and legal officer David Zapolsky said “the industry comes from a history of secrecy and so some of that’s just reflex.” He added that community leaders need to share information with their constituents, and that “It just didn’t make sense” to require secrecy anymore.

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