President Donald Trump dismisses alarming warnings about artificial intelligence agents as a "hoax," but his adopted home state and county both have vocalized deep concerns about AI applications and offered stalwart resistance to data centers.
Earlier this month, it was disclosed that a grouping of AI programs broke free from their OpenAI contained testing environment and launched a coordinated cyberattack on the platform. Then a former top AI researcher warned that there is a growing chance that AI agents could pose an existential threat to humans within a decade.
Trump likened admonitions about the pace of AI program development to what he claimed was "Global Warming Scam" in a Sept. 14 social media post. It was one of a series of bullish missives
about AI he rifled off in the wake of stunning revelations.
But across the Sunshine State, and in Palm Beach County, which Trump designated as his official residence in 2019, his fellow Floridians beg to differ.
Here are five things to know about Trump, AI, data centers and Florida.
What does Trump say about the chilling AI warnings?
The chilling, sci-fi like cautions about AI developments were quickly brushed off by Trump.
In a handful of posts, he compared the the admonitions to the Russia investigation during his first term. Trump also referred to himself as the "hoax buster" in rebuking the negative talk, and added he was the only regulator necessary.
"The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that in spades," he posted.
Trump has also suggested slowing the pace of AI innovation and implementation will allow U.S. economic rivals across the globe to catch up to Americas' lead.
Palm Beaches say no to data center, yes to moratorium?
In July, the Palm Beach County commission decisively voted 5-to-1 in July against authorizing a proposed 1-million-square-foot data center. The site for the sprawling complex, known as Project Tango, is near Arden, a community along Southern Boulevard, a portion of which was officially renamed "President Donald J. Trump Boulevard" in January.
Then, last month, the county's governing board gave an initial green light to a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers so officials could develop new regulations for the facilities.
Still, Project Tango's proponent, PBA Holdings, said the fight for their data center is not over. The firm may seek administrative approval for a smaller scale data-processing facility and, later, apply to convert approved warehouse space into data center use.
Other localities in politically red Florida also stiff arm data centers
Trump won Florida, considered as the Trumpiest of states, in a rout with 56% of the vote in the presidential election two years ago. But his warning that municipalities that refuse to permit data centers will end up "backwards and poor" have fallen on deaf ears across the state.
The Florida Data Centers website reports that 19 jurisdictions in the state have either prohibited or put data center proposals on the backburner. Those include politically deep red localities.
A week before Palm Beach County rebuffed the data center project, commissioners across the peninsula in Sarasota County unanimously directed their staff to implement a one-year moratorium on new applications for large-scale data centers.
Moreover, the county's largest municipality in terms of square miles, North Port, has also encated an 18-month moratorium on large scale data centers.
Sarasota County is a decidedly crimson county where the 164,776 Republican voters are more than twice the number of Democrats. Trump won the county with 58% of ballots cast, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris by 18 percentage points in 2024.
Treasure Coast counties neighboring Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in the Palm Beaches, also are divided, at best, over data center developments.
Indian River County and its best known city, Vero Beach, have enacted moratoriums. Trump beat Harris by nearly 30 points there in 2024.
In Martin and St. Lucie counties there has been strong opposition the Silver Fox and Sentinel Groves facilities, respectively. Ditto for data centers planned for Okeechobee and Citrus counties. Trump won the four counties by an average of 65 of the vote two years ago.
That's trouble for five of the planned eight data centers in Florida, where already 120 facilities of varying size and scale exist. Overall, Florida ranks 12th in number of data centers, according to a Pew Research Center review, despite rating third in population in the United States.
Are AI fears about job losses in Trump's Florida justified?
People opposing data center developments in Florida cite a number of issues, including impact on their communities as well as a strain on water resources and electric power usage.
One issue intertwined in the resistance is the fear of job losses resulting from broad applications of AI technology. So, are Floridians at risk of losing their employment?
A study released by the analytics firm SmartAsset places Florida workers at "moderate risk of AI disruption." The survey found the state has roughly 3.4% of its workforce, or 300,790 jobs, at high-exposure.
The results were achieved by highlighting 26 most at-risk job categories, including payroll clerks, office support workers and telemarketers, and then assessing how reliant each state's workforces were dependent on those types of employment.
Why is Trump unconcerned about AI dangers?
The president has said concerns about AI are being "perpetrated by the Radical Left" despite the opposition evident in Florida counties most favorable to him.
Trump has made slashing government regulations a center piece of his second term. The president stated in one of his posts on Sept. 14 that AI guardrails will "kill the Golden Goose" and cost the United States technological advantage to China's benefit.
Concerning AI, when, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion?" he wrote.
Others have pointed out that Trump is heavily focused on the stock markets, and AI technology shares have been a dominant driver, accounting for roughly 75% of S&P 500 returns since 2022, Currently, stocks associated with AI technology make up between 45% to 62% of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization.
That's no tangential factor in Florida, which lists nearly 5 million retirees, almost a quarter of the population, who watch their 401K plans closely.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Floridians voted for Trump, but draw red line on AI, data centers
