A fiscal court meeting in Carroll County, Kentucky grew contentious when local residents started playing data center sounds.

Data center proponents generally argue that the facilities will provide jobs and sustain the American lead in the global AI race. Opponents, meanwhile, urge that the infrastructure projects are associated with dangerous pollution, spiking energy costs, and loss of natural land. And then, of course, there’s the noise.

“We don’t need a data center in a community, let alone two hyperscale data centers in a community of less than a population of 12,000 people,”