AI Data Centers Have a PR Problem. OpenAI Is Proposing a Rebrand - CNET
By Google News AI ·
OpenAI is shifting its marketing strategy after the US midterm elections conclude this week, proposing to rebrand its data centers as “AI compute campuses.” The creator of ChatGPT is preparing a public relations campaign that could include regulatory lobbying and efforts to rehabilitate AI’s image, according to Axios.
The push coincides with a potential blue wave in Congress. OpenAI global affairs officer Chris Lehane is reportedly trying to steer the AI policy debate and to send a message that “AI should be built by and for people,” as Axios reports.
The effort is a response to an increasingly enraged electorate, as backlash to AI data center construction becomes a unifying issue across party lines. A July Gallup poll found that as many as 70% of US adults are opposed to local data center construction, including Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Supporters of AI data centers often argue that the construction and operation of these massive AI server farms bring job growth to local communities. But studies show that employment is limited, and in some cases temporary. Residents continue to rally against the environmental impacts of water contamination, the burning of fossil fuels and noise pollution.
Lehane told Axios that OpenAI views the conversation as healthy and that “communities should hold companies responsible and accountable so they really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects.” The company is trying to reframe AI adoption as a means to access economic opportunities.
OpenAI’s new PR campaign aligns with Silicon Valley’s effort to repackage the controversial technology so it can move full speed ahead with building more data centers, which the White House has touted as vital engines for the US economy. President Donald Trump’s…
Originally published by Google News AI