A growing number of teenagers across the United States are raising concerns about the environmental and community impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, even as many of them remain users of AI technology in their daily lives. This emerging youth activism reflects broader unease among Generation Z regarding the rapid expansion of data centers—large facilities that power AI services like chatbots—amid questions about their health, environmental, and economic effects.
Seventeen-year-old Sadie Cisneros of Pittsburg, California, initially embraced AI tools such as ChatGPT for study and research. However, she became apprehensive after learning about a planned 300,000-square-foot data center near her neighborhood, approved in 2024, which she feared would consume excessive water, worsen air pollution, and generate noise disruptive to nearby schools. Cisneros has since become active in local government meetings and community rallies, using social media to encourage other young people to engage civically; one of her TikTok videos explaining how to speak at city council meetings has garnered over 10 million views.
Similar activism is taking place nationwide. In Colorado Springs, 14-year-old Kyle McGuffey has scrutinized Project Taurus, a data center approved near his home. Over his summer break, he obtained public records through the Colorado Open Records Act, uncovering early documents indicating potentially higher power demands than publicized. McGuffey’s findings have been shared with local opposition groups challenging the project. The developer, Raeden, disputed the documents’ relevance, stating the approved plan restricts power usage to 50 megawatts and highlighted efforts to address noise and environmental concerns.
In Texas, 15-year-old Marco Sanchez founded the El Paso Youth Alliance to unite nearly 100 teenagers against a multi-billion-dollar data center being built by Meta. Sanchez criticized the substantial property tax breaks granted to Meta, expressing worries about increased energy costs and pollution impacting working families while the company benefits financially. Meta responded by affirming its commitment to offset 100 percent of the data center's electricity use in El Paso with clean and renewable energy, stating it will not transfer costs to local residents.
Despite their opposition to data centers’ local impacts, many young activists are wrestling with their own dependence on AI technology. Research shows that more than half of Gen Z Americans use generative AI regularly, yet there is growing skepticism about the long-term effects of AI. College student reactions at recent graduations reflected unease, with many booing optimistic remarks about AI’s future. Survey data from the spring indicates fewer than 20 percent of Gen Z respondents feel hopeful about AI, a steep decline from previous years.
Some youth activists, like Mihir Nimkar from Loudoun County, Virginia—an area dense with data centers—acknowledge the essential role these facilities play in modern digital life. Nimkar, who co-founded a student group opposing a high-voltage power line project that would run through his school property, said his involvement deepened his understanding of AI’s unseen impacts. He continues to use AI tools but views them with increased awareness of their broader consequences.
Experts note that despite political and demographic differences, opposition to data centers has become a unifying issue among young people, driven by concerns about environmental justice, community health, and economic fairness. Analysts suggest that this generation’s engagement with local political processes over data center developments signals a significant shift in youth activism, reflecting a desire to influence how AI infrastructure integrates into their communities.