Open AI confirms public sentiment against data centers: “We will bear the full cost of the power grid”

On the 5th (local time), as community opposition to the construction of an artificial intelligence (AI) data center grew stronger, Open AI proposed a plan to directly bear the cost of power grid expansion and strengthen cooperation with residents.

In the recent U.S. midterm elections, Democratic candidates who pledged to regulate data center construction won one after another, and it is interpreted that they are taking action to appease the backlash from the local community.

According to the US daily New York Times (NYT), in the 'National Community Compact' plan announced on this day, OpenAI announced that it will fully bear the cost of the power it uses in the future and the cost of improving the power grid necessary to supply that power.

Improvement measures were proposed in response to opposition from local communities who feared that data center construction could lead to a surge in electricity demand and electricity costs.

OpenAI also decided to provide financial guarantees so that local communities do not have to bear the cost of improving the power grid even if the data center construction project is canceled.

In addition, the company announced that it would disclose the water and power usage of each business site and stop the practice of requiring public officials to sign confidentiality agreements.

When constructing a data center, Open AI has required local public officials to sign a confidentiality agreement to prevent business-related information from being disclosed to the outside world, which has raised suspicions that Open AI is trying to promote the project while avoiding public surveillance.

OpenAI also announced that it will prepare its own regional agreement in each region where the data center will be built and issue a public report every year.

However, this promise only applies to businesses directly owned and operated by Open AI.

Currently, much of OpenAI's computing infrastructure is owned by partners such as Oracle, so there are limits to its actual scope of application.

Open AI further argued that similar regulations should be introduced throughout the big tech industry.

In the 'Policy Blueprint' also announced on this day, it was proposed that large-scale power users, such as AI companies, should be regulated to bear the additional costs incurred in the process of improving the power grid.

We urged the government to disclose the tax benefits it provides to big tech companies and to reclaim the benefits if companies fail to fulfill the promised conditions.

The proposal is not only to strengthen local community cooperation, but also to expand the cost burden and information disclosure of data center construction to an industry-wide obligation.

This move came immediately after the Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the U.S. midterm elections on the 3rd.

The Democratic Party won the gubernatorial elections in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio with candidates who pledged to temporarily suspend new data center construction permits and strengthen construction regulations.

The fact that referendum proposals to limit data center construction in various parts of the United States received widespread support from voters is also putting a burden on the industry.

The NYT pointed out that OpenAI, which has maintained a close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ignored the community's opposition to the construction of a data center, is in an awkward situation.

Previously, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman donated $1 million (about 1.4 billion won) to President Trump's inauguration committee, and OpenAI CEO Greg Brockman also donated $25 million (about 35 billion won) to a pro-Trump super PAC (political action committee) last year.

However, President Brockman withdrew the additional donation he had planned for this year.