Artificial intelligence emerged as a major issue on the 2026 US midterm campaign trail, with opposition to data centres drawing supporters across partisan divides united over ecological worries, increased utility bills and business interests outweighing citizen concerns. Georgia, the top US market for data centre construction, has been on the front line of the struggle.

File photo of a Meta data centre near Social Circle, Georgia, USA, taken September 5, 2026. © Mike Stewart, AP Quilliam Barber surveyed his backyard on a beautiful fall morning – the towering trees shading the southern sun, early autumn leaves dotting the green lawn, a tuneful bird working the quiet of this rural Georgia district to its advantage – and let out a heavy, forlorn sigh.

“I feel terrible. It's right there,” said the 67-year-old retired truck driver, gesturing towards the sprawling open land behind his backyard. “It’s right up under my arm, you know. And I can do nothing about it.”Quilliam Barber and his wife, Wilhemina Barber, take a break in their backyard in Coweta County in the southern US state of Georgia. © Leela Jacinto, FRANCE 24 The Barbers’ property abuts a massive, 800-acre tract earmarked for a hyperscale data centre in Georgia’s Coweta County in the Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, part of the wider Apalachicola Basin in southeastern His new neighbour, the Project Sail data centre, made headlines in early 2025, when the eye-popping scale of the plan came to light.

The $17 billion venture, estimated to require roughly 900 megawatts of electricity and 9 million gallons of water, includes 13 buildings, each covering 378,000 square feet, taking the total land area to more than 4.9 million square feet, according to county filings Standing next to her husband, Wilhemina Barber knows that with such a mega project coming up next door, things are about to change – dramatically.

“It’s very quiet and peaceful out here. We love it, I love it, he loves it. We’ve got a pretty clear feeling it's going to play an important role if they do put it right in our back door," she said.

Around two miles down the road, Ron Bockrath, picked up a poster from a pile on his kitchen buffet table. “Protect Coweta: No Data Center Here” read the yard bold red.

Ron Bockrath puts up a resistance at home in Newnan, Coweta County, Georgia. © Leela Jacinto, FRANCE 24 Bockrath’s opposition to the data centre has kept him busy over the past few months. From organising collectives and filing lawsuits, to collecting petition signatures, his efforts are part of a multi-pronged community campaign to stop the Sail project.

Across the US, in cities and counties rich or poor, rural, urban or semi-urban, citizens are raging against the machine.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the mega centres required to power it, emerged as one of the major campaign issues ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, popping up in debates and town hall gatherings, leaving many candidates scrambling to articulate a cogent position and their constituents dissatisfied. The public sentiment has been at odds with US President Donald Trump’s promotion of AI as “Superior Intelligence” (SI).

Community-led initiatives have targeted AI-driven surveillance systems, including cameras misused by law enforcement officials.