BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — Communities across the country are taking on data centers, particularly in Box Elder County, but they’re not alone.
A grassroots movement is saying 'no' to Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O'Leary, when it comes to building data centers where they’re not wanted.
“The message from the citizens is the same. They’re just frustrated. They feel like nobody’s listening. They feel like they don’t have a voice," said Kelli Ferguson, media relations with Humans First. "So it’s bringing this big bus in and getting the word out and getting the media out and having that conversation to support them.”
Thousands of miles and 30-odd states later, Humans First is bringing their microphone to a city near you, giving communities the chance to speak out against data centers in their backyards.
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“We are an AI safety company; that’s actually how we started. We’re not anti-tech. We’re not anti-AI. And we’re not even anti-data center," said Kylie Jane Kramer, senior advisor for Humans First. "We are engaging over this data center issue with the locals in their communities who are really facing this head-on.”
With the Stratos Project’s biggest backer Kevin O’Leary in tow, the grassroots group that describes itself as conservative says its priority is getting the attention of elected local and state officials.
“With the Stratos Project, we saw Kevin O’Leary scale it back tremendously, and I think it’s because of the backlash that he got, but the people still don’t want it at all, and it’s now in court. The last day, I believe, was September 15, and they were waiting on a ruling. Now there’s a 180-day moratorium here in Box Elder County because people here don’t want it," said Kramer. "And if these data centers are so great and they’ll bring this economic boom, so on and so forth, then why are they not having this conversation and allowing us and the locals to have a seat at the table?”
That ruling is one brought by residents who organized as Box Elder Accountability Referendum, or BEAR, and sought a public referendum on the project’s decision.
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The county attorney rejected their application, and the group is now suing to overturn that ruling.
When things started to unfold earlier this year, O'Leary said, “We’re going to follow that process, but what I’ve said after this, you know, debacle, whatever you want to call it, I said I’m going to take this over myself. I’ll talk to the people of Box Elder myself.”
While the group says the cities where they’ve stopped are in varying stages of data center development, some not at all, some at full steam, the message is the same.
“That doesn’t mean that just because I use electricity, I want a power plant in my backyard. Just because I drive a car, does not mean I want a six-lane highway driving through my neighborhood," said Kramer. "That’s a conversation that needs to be had and I hope that people like Kevin O’leary and these others, that they take a step back and look at the community that this is impacting and what the locals there want.”