On Thursday night, I put on fluorescent yellow high heels and a floral mini dress. This is New York, so of course I could wear whatever I wanted to a midterm election event packed with journalists, tech professionals, and policy advocates—and, well, who else would be at an event like this? When I walked into the dimly lit, blue-tinged Brooklyn warehouse, I was surprised to find it nearly full.
The event was hosted by Newsreel, a media company founded by former Forbes and Newsweek journalist Jack Brewster, featuring an impressive lineup. Kenneth Schlenker, co-founder of the focus app Opal, sat down for a fireside chat on the "state of attention," while Aliyan Banjarn, creator of the campaign management software Barza, offered midterm election predictions. I moderated a panel discussion on data centers.
Brewster said the goal of the event was to get everyone to "put down their phones and talk to each other about the election, with five days left until voting."
However, as the night progressed, nearly every conversation was dominated by the same topic: AI, data centers, and the backlash against the growing technocratic establishment.
Recently, as a tech journalist, I’ve noticed the gap between the tech community and everyone else is widening. I spend most of my time talking to people who see the benefits of AI, who are ambitious in building it and so optimistic about its eventual success that I often forget how bad it all looks to those outside the tech bubble. Beyond the tech bubble, data centers and AI have become such potent ballot-box issues that they could influence the outcomes of some midterm elections on November 3.
A recent report from Data Center Watch found that nearly $200 billion in data center projects have been delayed, stalled, or blocked in the first half of 2026 due to political and community opposition. Meanwhile, states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, New York, and Virginia are considering implementing additional safeguards and increasing transparency to manage the rapid growth of data centers. Virginia alone has planned hundreds of new data centers, despite already being known as the "world capital of data centers."
Before my panel discussion, a fireside chat featuring New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé set the tone. The topic of AI came up near the end; Ossé said he doesn’t really use AI himself. To me, he seemed neither an advocate nor an opponent—he emphasized instead that he wants tech executives to take greater responsibility and that trillionaires like Elon Musk should pay higher taxes. He described himself as a democratic socialist but of the “rule of law” variety. Ossé said that if corporate executives are talking about a technology that could consume 10% of human civilization, “they should be summoned to testify before Congress.”
Next up was my panel discussion, where I joined Maya Voluchem, a researcher on technology and human rights, and Hillary Flint, an advocate for environmental and public health, to discuss data centers. As I stepped on stage, I decided to better gauge the audience’s reaction. I asked, “Who here supports AI data centers?” and was met with a chorus of boos. Our conversation touched on many topics and emotions—people were frustrated that big tech companies seemed to be making secret deals with local officials to build billion-dollar data centers. In some cases, zoning rules allowed developers to conceal what was truly being built until it was too late for the public to protest.
Meanwhile, people are struggling with the cost of living, doing everything they can to hold on to their dwindling American Dream, while tech leaders speak of AI replacing workers—and even humanity itself. Residents feel they have lost control over their community affairs and fear environmental and health risks. The panel agreed that data centers have become the physical embodiment of people’s fears and anger toward the tech elite and the rapid pace of technological advancement.
“How much is a life worth?” Flint said when I mentioned some communities benefiting from data center construction. She said people are still protesting because they “feel their lives are worth a little more than a temporary check.”
My subsequent panel features NewsNation host Bhatia Angal-Sargon, political strategist Maurice Katz, who worked on Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, and Aastha Hernand from Vox. They were originally meant to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, but the conversation once again turned to data centers. Angal-Sargon noted that some unions support data centers because they promise job creation. (Reports indicate that data centers generate numerous jobs during the construction phase, but these positions do not persist after construction is complete.)
“In the past, communities in the Rust Belt took pride in the ugly, massive buildings in their towns because everyone worked there,” she said, nodding in agreement with my earlier comment about data centers being unattractive. “They knew those buildings represented their own prosperity, their children’s stability, their future, and a part of the American Dream.”
Herdon pointed out that Vivek Ramaswamy faced boos in Ohio—a Rust Belt state—for expressing similar views. “I just want to emphasize the lack of consent happening here,” he said, “because this is also true among Republicans in those areas; I’ve seen it firsthand.” Katz also expressed skepticism. “It’s the same people who took away so many union jobs,” he said, “the same institutional forces that stripped workers and the working class of their jobs and profits. Now they’re coming back to take away what little remains.”
Many sticky notes were posted along the warehouse wall, answering questions written on the wall, including “When will we finally drive big money out of politics?” One note read: “Oh my gosh, I really hope so.”
After the panel ended, people flooded toward the bar, and electronic dance music began blasting loudly. Everyone formed small groups, and AI and data centers once again became the topic of conversation—this time in more intimate discussions. I asked Brewster if he was surprised by how much attention everyone was giving to AI and data centers.
“It’s been mentioned in every panel discussion, and it’s the second most common topic in the questions people sent when RSVPing,” he said, adding that this is happening even in New York, where data centers aren’t prominent. “AI has become an election issue for the average voter,” he said. “In rural communities, the backlash comes from people feeling they’ll be replaced; in places like Brooklyn, it’s more about who benefits.”
Before leaving, I walked around and asked everyone what the craziest thing they’d seen in tech this year was. Two tech founders mentioned the AI assistant startup Instinct, while someone outside the tech world mentioned Sam Altman.
Another non-tech individual mentioned the rise of deepfakes and AI art. She said that AI art is beginning to convey a sense of cheapness. Perhaps that’s why luxury brands are going in the opposite direction: Prada’s holiday advertising campaign features hand-drawn illustrations, while Hermès highlights artisans’ handmade works on Instagram.
When I left, I chatted with a software engineer. She said the craziest thing she’d seen this year was someone painting their nails orange for Halloween and being asked if they were paying homage to Anthropic’s IPO. I admit, I once wore a burnt-orange dress and briefly imagined myself as the Claude logo.
She later told me that data centers were also springing up in her hometown in Southern California. Hearing this, I thought for the first time about how I would feel if a data center appeared in my own hometown. She grew up in a Chinese immigrant community where neighbors put up signs in their yards depicting dragons choking a data center.
She said that these slogans have since been translated into other languages.