The public sours on AI and data centers as Anthropic, OpenAI look to IPO and tech keeps spending

Public opinion on AI is declining in the United States, with 57% of voters believing AI's risks outweigh its benefits, creating challenges for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic as they prepare to go public. Tech companies are investing heavily in data centers (the large computing facilities that power AI systems) to build more powerful AI models, but these projects face growing opposition due to energy concerns, with $156 billion in data center projects blocked or delayed in 2025 and Maine passing the first state-wide data center ban. This negative sentiment and regulatory pushback could impact the valuations and public offerings of major AI companies.