"What stands in the way becomes the way" is one of the most-quoted axioms of Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
It frames adversity as an advantage, and, according to the Wall Street Journal, everyday people are doing just that to beat back the AI data center boom.
By now, most Americans are aware of data centers, the massive, resource-devouring facilities now dotting the landscape to power AI.
Jessica Sharp lives in Wilmington, Ohio. As the parent of a young child, she planned to enjoy what she called her "stay-at-home-mom era" — but just after she finalized the purchase of her family home, she learned of plans to build a data center 200 feet from the house.
Like Sharp, real estate agent Jessica Baker opposes the construction of new data centers in Ohio, which currently hosts more than 200 of the facilities.
AI data centers have quickly become the least welcome form of "local investment" in the United States. As they began springing up, often in rural areas, residents immediately raised complaints about the noise and air pollution they generated.
Not long after that, households across the country were hit with massive electric bills, a direct consequence of data center energy demand driving up rates.
Between concerns that new data centers lowered property values against assurances to the contrary, quality-of-life issues, and utility cost shocks, American communities began organizing to fight back — halting nearly $100 billion in development in late 2025.
Baker and Sharp recruited an unlikely ally in their efforts to block the data center: ChatGPT.
Sharp told the Journal that she limits her AI use out of concern for the environment and for its energy demands, but she admitted that the chatbot leveled the playing field for her.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 "I'm going to use every tool in my arsenal to respond. They've had a multiyear lead time on this, and I'm just going to try to catch up," Sharp said of local data center developers.
Baker had a similar view of using AI to combat data centers.
"I'm using the beast to beat the beast," she conceded.
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