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We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.

“In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities,” says Hao. “It really does cut across political lines.”

Hao recently launched The AI Resist List with a group of fellow journalists, researchers and technologists. It’s a collaborative project to track and reshape how artificial intelligence is deployed around the world.


This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Citations

[1] “AI Resist List”: Karen Hao on Data Center Resistance, Tech Billionaires, “Empire of AI” & More | Democracy Now! ➤ http://www.democracynow.org/2026/5/22/data_centers_and_ai[2] The AI Resist List ➤ https://airesistlist.org/