DRONE PHOTO BY MICHAEL EIN, ECREATIVE
Vehement opposition to Data One’s data center on South Lincoln Avenue in Vineland, along with citizen challenges across the state, are drastically swaying public opinion on the issue.
Most New Jerseyans now say the costs of a data center surpass the benefits, do not want one built in their area or the state, and are mixed or negative about AI’s impact on education, jobs and the environment, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.
More than a third of New Jerseyans say they purposefully use AI tools such as a chatbot, writing or image generator or an AI assistant at least once a day. Eight percent say they use these tools almost constantly, 17% say several times a day and 11% about once a day. Fifteen percent say they use AI tools several times a week and 25% say they use them less often. About one in five say they never use AI tools (21%).
Asked to weigh the jobs and tax revenue data centers could bring against their use of electricity and water and the prospect of higher utility bills, 55% of New Jerseyans say the costs outweigh the benefits, 11% say the benefits exceed the costs, and 19% say expenses and benefits are about equal. Sixteen percent are unsure.
New Jerseyans oppose data centers wherever they might be built in the state, though opposition eases somewhat as the proposed location moves farther from home.
Seventy-two percent are opposed to a data center being built in their town or city (54% “strongly,” 18% “somewhat”), while 21% are supportive (6% “strongly,” 15% “somewhat.)“What stands out about data centers is that no group reaches majority support anywhere—not in their own town, not in a neighboring county, not in the state at large,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Results are from a statewide poll of 1,004 adults contacted through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from September. 24 to 27.
