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While American technology companies rush to dominate AI, a recent Fox News poll across the country finds voters slamming the brakes on data centers, as they prefer to take time to address local concerns rather than accelerate expansion to maintain global competitiveness.
With a margin of 40 points, voters are against building data centers in their area to support artificial intelligence (30% in favor, 70% against).
MAGA supporters (46% in favor) and Republican men (45%) are the groups most likely to favor data centers, while White women with college degrees (84% opposed) and liberal voters (80%) are the most opposed.
FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT BIG CHANGE BETWEEN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL
Among those who favor data centers, 60% cite economic benefits, including jobs, economic growth, public investment, and tax revenue as a reason for their support. Another 21% point to the benefits of technology, saying institutions are useful, necessary, or important to future progress. Only 2% say staying ahead of competitors is the main reason for their support.
Those opposing data centers emphasize a different set of considerations. Half (50%) say environmental issues are their biggest concern, including energy and water use, pollution, noise, and overall environmental impact, while very few mention concerns about quality of life (14%), economic consequences (11%), or simply having a negative view of AI (11%).
FOX NEWS POLL: SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT FOR BOTH VOTER REGULATIONS AND POLLS
While data centers aren’t particularly popular, the outlook for artificial intelligence technology itself is a bit grim. Overall, 45% view AI favorably compared to 54% unfavorably, down by 9 points. In April, it was -11 points.
Favorable views of AI are higher among MAGA Republicans (55% favorable), voters with degrees (52%), conservatives (50%), and men (49%) than among Democrats (41%), those without a college degree (43%), liberals (37%), and women (40%).
About 8 out of 10 voters prefer slow data center construction to address environmental and social concerns, while 2 out of 10 prefer to build them as quickly as possible to maintain a competitive advantage over China and other countries.
While a majority across the church favors a slow adoption of institutions, MAGA Republicans (36%) and conservatives (35%) are the most likely to prioritize rapid expansion to maintain international competitiveness.
The AI will not find partners in a crowd below 30
Although young voters are often viewed as tech savvy, that doesn’t translate into warm views of artificial intelligence.
Voters under 30 are the least likely to view AI favorably, at 38%, compared to 48% of those aged 30-44 and 44% of those aged 45 and over.
Despite differences in AI perspectives, attitudes toward data centers are similar across generations. Nearly 7 in 10 across all age groups oppose building data centers, and nearly 8 in 10 prefer to slow construction to address environmental and environmental concerns.
Conducted July 17-20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from the national voter file. Respondents spoke with interviewers live via landline (70) and cell phone (681) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (252). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. The survey includes an oversample of 200 voters aged 18–29, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 350 (±5). The sampling error of results between subgroups is high. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can affect the results. Estimates are often used for age, race, education, and geographic variables to ensure that demographics are representative of registered voters. Sources for developing weight targets include the latest American Public Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.
