Technology, trust and the ballot

Among the many concerns that were on voters’ minds during the US mid-term elections, some issues at the local level demonstrated an increasing level of distrust with both technology and technology companies. The public response to these issues gives an early indication of the changing landscape of how the population views the role of technology in their lives. Before we look at the mood of the electorate, it is important to recognise that most conversation on technology centred around digital technology, AI and data centres. While there was some occasional conversation on chips manufacturing (e.g. with regard to issues in foreign policy) or local manufacturing of generic pharmaceuticals (e.g. in the context of rising cost of healthcare), these topics were not nearly as prominent as those around data centres.On the issue of data centres, the public response was substantial and almost exclusively against data centres. Candidates who opposed data centres did much better than their opponents who may have supported new data or have had softer stances on regulation. Interestingly, the opposition against data centres came from candidates of both parties. In total, there were 41 ballot measures across the US around data centres and in 40 of them voters either rejected development of data centres or severely restricted their development. Election data suggests that while nearly 88% of Democratic voters opposed data centres in their communities, over 60% of Republican voters also did the same. In some cases, such as Wisconsin, Democratic candidates who may have been pro data centres initially changed their positions under pressure from their Republican candidates demonstrating the broad public resistance. It is interesting to note that while the US continues to be a global leader in AI tech development, the issue of data centres is not universally backed by the large segment of population. In many ways, this is not surprising. Last year, in several commencement ceremonies graduation speakers who spoke about the opportunities created by the new AI-driven economy were widely booed by the students.