Data Centers Have a Community Engagement Problem

The data center industry has been caught off-guard by public backlash, and must respond with transparency and much deeper community engagement, three communications veterans tell Cool Vector. The Cool Vector episode, "Data Centers Have a Community Engagement Problem," includes Megan Baker, founder and principal of Tuli Public Affairs, Ilissa Miller, founder and CEO of iMiller Public Relations, and Phillip Koblence, CEO of Critical Ventures as well as co-founder of Nomad Futurist. The experts unpack why data center projects are eliciting fierce local opposition. They discuss how, after decades of relative invisibility, digital infrastructure has suddenly become a lightning rod. Among the challenges, public dialogue conflates digital infrastructure with broader anxieties about AI, surveillance, and Big Tech overreach, even as demand for the industry's services has never been higher. Baker, Miller, and Koblence trace data centers' problems to a pattern of reactive, legally guarded communication that skips community listening in favor of trying to sell a project's benefits. They argue that changing this pattern will require humanizing the industry, tailoring outreach to each community's specific concerns, and being more transparent about why a given project is being built where it is. Among the key takeaways of this episode: • Opposition to data centers is rooted in fear of AI, surveillance, and being taken advantage of by wealthy outsiders, which is why purely technical rebuttals rarely land with skeptical communities. • Local elected officials often can't answer basic constituent questions about proposed projects, leaving them unable to defend their support. This was demonstrated when a longtime Utah senate leader lost his seat largely over his support for a high-profile data center project. • Effective community engagement starts with understanding a community's specific values and priorities. • The industry lacks shared standards or tools for navigating these conversations, and developers should treat community engagement lessons as something to share collaboratively rather than compete on, since reputational damage in one town can follow a company into the next. Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack #coolvector #datacenters #digitalinfrastructure #communityengagement #publicaffairs