Americans gathered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, on Saturday to protest AI data centers.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderAmerica's anti-data center movement went national on Saturday.Protesters across the US rallied against the hulking facilities as part of a nationwide demonstration organized by Humans First, a newly founded conservative nonprofit taking on what it calls "Big AI."The group planned more than 100 demonstrations throughout the day, from Wasilla in southcentral Alaska to the sunny shores of Naples, Florida. Many states had multiple protests scheduled, including 18 in Texas, where available land, access to an electricity grid, and potential tax breaks have turned it into a prime destination for companies building AI data centers.Residents of Kenilworth, New Jersey, oppose an incoming data center project.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderNew Jersey hosted two protests, including one in the small borough of Kenilworth. A crowd gathered outside the local municipal court around 10 a.m. to push back against an incoming $1.8 billion AI data center.The local planning board approved the project last May, but it has faced growing opposition since. A petition to halt construction in April gained over 12,000 signatures. About 8,500 people live in Kenilworth, according to the latest census."You think this is pressure? Wait 'til there's no water pressure," one protest sign read. Another: "Build community, not data centers."Elizabeth Bertot, wearing a "faith, family, freedom" T-shirt, attended the anti-AI data center demonstration organized by Humans First in Kenilworth.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderSome residents arrived with noise makers — plastic horns, whistles, a drum — while others brought colored chalk to tag the nearby sidewalks. They were undeterred as heavy rain fell later in the day. Donning ponchos and sharing umbrellas, the protesters continued to chant and march.Demonstrators in Kenilworth marched and chanted through the rain on Saturday.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderGrassroots effortsHumans First is led by Amy Kremer, a MAGA darling who has been at the center of some of the most prominent conservative movements since 2009. A former Tea Party member, she cofounded Women for Trump and participated in the Republican National Committee.She also helped organize the January 6 rally for President Donald Trump in 2021, which later devolved into a riot at the US Capitol. (Kremer neither planned nor participated in the riot.)In an earlier interview with Business Insider, Kremer said she's now using her skills as a grassroots organizer to take on the AI industry."I think this is the most important fight of our lifetime," Kremer said last month. "This technology could wipe us off the face of the planet."Americans staged protests against AI data center developments across the country on Saturday.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderThe nonprofit advocates an "America First" approach to AI that centers everyday residents in the conversation and empowers them to decide how the technology is developed over time."This technology has been built on American data with American taxpayer dollars invested into these companies with American energy and American land," Kremer said. "We have no voice in how the technology is used or how it impacts our lives, and that's not right."On Saturday, Kremer thanked those who volunteered their time and energy to the demonstrations."The data center boom has been sold as inevitable. It is not. Communities have every right to ask what they are giving up and what they are getting in return. America is not for sale, and our communities are not collateral," Kremer wrote on X.Demonstrators wave signs in Imperial, California, during Saturday's nationwide protest against AI data centers.SANDY HUFFAKER / AFPThe AI divideTech leaders have made some grand promises about AI. They have said it will turbocharge the economy, accelerate scientific progress, cure disease, and unburden humans from mundane work.AI, however, can only advance so far without large data centers, which provide the computing power to run and train the technology. Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta rely on data centers to keep their AI products afloat. For them, data centers are essential.More than 1,400 AI data centers had already been built or approved for construction by the end of 2025. Many more have been proposed in 2026.David Vanek held a sign opposing a data center development in Kenilworth, New Jersey.Paola Chapdelaine/Business InsiderAI evangelists say America needs large data centers to support the technology, bolster national security, and gain a competitive edge against China, where researchers are nipping at the heels of the most well-heeled American labs. They also say that hyperscale data centers promote economic growth and create new jobs, particularly during construction.Critics, however, aren't sure the rewards outweigh the risks.Many are concerned that AI data centers cause environme
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