The Great American AI Rebellion

Derek Thompson · 11 Aug 2026 · derekthompson.org ↗

2 korrents from this piece

Derek Thompson did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
The current AI data-center buildout is the biggest and fastest-growing infrastructure project in living memory.

Their wordsThis is the biggest and fastest-growing infrastructure project of our lifetimes.
Our reading
Opposition to new AI data centers has become the fastest-growing political movement in America, putting it on a collision course with the industry that depends on building them.

Their wordsThe fastest-growing political movement in America is dead-set on stopping the construction of data centers, which are critical to the growth of the fastest-growing industry in America.