Saturday, August 22, 2026
Special Edition: ‘Not In My Backyard’ - Backlash Against AI Data Centers
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Artificial intelligence may feel like something that lives on our phones or in chatbots, but behind it all is very real infrastructure being built across the country.
Nicol Turner Lee of the Brookings Institution explains why the data center boom is becoming a major issue for communities, from electricity and water use to noise, costs, jobs, and more.
Plus, why there could be potential benefits, too, but what communities should do to make sure they are not left with the consequences while big tech gets all the rewards.
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Guest: Dr. Nicol Turner Lee
Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation (CTI) and co-editor of the TechTank blog and podcast at the Brookings Institution, which is a global think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. She is also the founder of the AI Equity Lab, which focuses on convening experts from government, civil society, academia, and industry to develop purposeful, pragmatic, and inclusive solutions and policies.
Dr. Turner Lee's research encompasses equitable access to technology across the U.S. and abroad. Her portfolio also includes leading research and public policy work focused on the identification and mitigation of online biases in artificial intelligence systems. She is the author of the book, Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass (Brookings Press, 2024), and has appeared throughout various news media, testified before Congress and international global governance bodies, and written extensively on tech and telecom issues. She has been recognized for her distinguished career contributions by the American Sociological Association, Washingtonian Magazine, the Alliance for Women in Media, and Rainbow PUSH Coalition, among others. She has her B.A. from Colgate University, and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
Learn more about Nicol Turner Lee’s work at Brookings or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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