“I think these big data centers look big, but they don't necessarily employ people. I challenge people all the time to think of a person that they know who's actually worked in a data center. And I don't think yet I've gotten a response for somebody outside the tech industry.”
WSJ's Take On the Week · October 2026
Kanter, the former head of antitrust at the Justice Department, says local opposition to data centers is really a proxy for a broader loss of public trust in tech companies. He argues people feel they were promised jobs and growth and suspect they're being conned.
Transcript
Wow. I don't
think I followed that.
Thankfully, it didn't pass, but it almost did. And so now we have the states stepping forward. And here's, I think, the data centers in large part are a proxy for the broader concern and lack of trust that the public has with respect to tech companies. And this goes back to the internet era, social media, and all these areas where they were promised a rose garden, but they got social media addiction. And so part of what's happening here is the public is saying, hey, I think I'm being conned. I think these big data centers look big, but they don't necessarily employ people. I challenge people all the time to think of a person that they know who's actually worked in a data center. And I don't think yet I've gotten a response for somebody outside the tech industry. So
they're not providing the jobs that people thought they would be.
Exactly. And so what's happening, and I think the public is picking up on this, is you have these big boxes that consume lots of natural resources that potentially tax the grid, but don't employ people. And then the wealth from the products and services go back to another area. And so I know…
So if you could wave your magic wand and somehow make Congress functional, where do you think lawmakers should begin when it comes to regulating AI without curbing innovation and growth?
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