Amazon Cancels OpenAI Film, Data Center Employees Push Back, and Meta Exposes Worker Information

Leah Feiger: Indeed. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have put forth the Data Center Moratorium Act, aimed at pausing the development of new AI data centers until there are established national protections. This issue might seem primarily aligned with left-wing interests, yet surprisingly, it has garnered bipartisan support. Politicians from various parties are engaging because their constituents are voicing concerns, asking, “What actions are you taking in my name? How does this affect my community? Is this helping or harming me?” What has genuinely surprised me is the level of bipartisanship surrounding this matter.

Zoë Schiffer: It’s quite fascinating because, in my opinion, based on OpenAI’s early focus on data centers during the initial stages of the Trump administration, they appeared to advocate for extensive data center construction. I was struck by Chris Lehane, the chief global affairs officer, who has a background at Airbnb and was a political strategist, as it seemed that he and OpenAI believed this would be advantageous for the company. The message felt very much like an America-first, build-it-all approach.

Leah Feiger: We’re creating jobs for everyone.

Zoë Schiffer: They completely misjudged the public sentiment around this issue. Now, altering their position is extremely challenging, especially since they’ve been issuing press releases with every new data center announcement. Now the narrative has shifted to, “Uh-oh, we need to keep this under wraps because there’s significant opposition.”

Brian Barrett: You’re right; they can’t reverse course either way until data centers can be relocated to space because of the computational needs they require.

Zoë Schiffer: Achieving that is certainly going to be a monumental task.

Brian Barrett: If not, impossible. Zoë, do you think there’s any potential for internal dissent—like electricians questioning the projects or workers expressing discomfort with data centers—to influence the strategy for these buildouts or spending decisions?

Zoë Schiffer: I’d be quite surprised. I don’t want to say it’s entirely impossible, as we’ve seen instances, such as when Google employees united against Project Maven and certain censored search initiatives for China, leading to those projects being paused.

Brian Barrett: Just to clarify, Project Maven involved collaboration with the Pentagon, correct? Utilizing Google technology for the Department of Defense?

Zoë Schiffer: Exactly, precisely. While such occurrences have happened in the past and could unfold again, I would note two things. First, the level of pushback from hourly workers has been quite minimal compared to the overall workforce. Companies are hiring thousands, often providing wages significantly higher than what’s typical for these roles. Given that this sector has historically had ample labor needs, there will likely be individuals willing to engage in these projects, although we may hear sporadic dissent, which is certainly newsworthy. That said, I still believe they can recruit large numbers of workers. Additionally, on a corporate level, while we are observing more vocal dissent and opposition from employees regarding company practices, it’s still at a significantly reduced level compared to around 2018.