The fight over artificial intelligence is becoming a fight over the physical infrastructure behind it. In an October 2 report, The Verge described Amazon’s effort to answer intensifying resistance to data centers with both a new package of community commitments and a stark warning about the consequences of slowing construction.

The appeal came in a blog post of more than 3,000 words from Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman. According to The Verge, Garman argued that the United States cannot afford to fall behind in the race for AI dominance, framing the data center buildout as an issue with consequences for both the economy and national security.

Illustration of communities debating paused data center construction across the United States.
More than 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration nationwide, according to AWS CEO Matt Garman.

Garman also said debate over new facilities has been distorted by misinformation and outright falsehoods. He went further, pointing to reports that foreign countries may be deliberately planting misleading claims in the United States in an effort to delay construction. The Verge presented that assertion as Garman’s argument, not as an independently established finding.

The message lands amid growing opposition in communities where data centers are planned or already operating. The Verge reported that concerns range from power demand and environmental effects to AI safety and the technology’s broader social impact. Garman said more than 100 data center moratoriums were under consideration around the country and warned that enacting them could carry lasting consequences.

Illustration of a public meeting about jobs, electricity costs, and data center investment.
Amazon’s new commitment emphasizes jobs, rate protection, community investment, and greater transparency.

Amazon’s response is a set of practices it calls the Data Center Commitment. As summarized by The Verge, the plan covers job creation, an effort to prevent data centers from increasing local electricity rates, and more than billion in investment for communities near Amazon facilities. Those promises are consequential, but the report does not establish how every commitment will be implemented or measured in each location.

The company is also changing a practice that has fueled suspicion around large infrastructure deals. Amazon said it no longer uses nondisclosure agreements with government agencies, following questions from Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin about confidential arrangements between technology companies and local officials.

Amazon chief legal and global affairs officer David Zapolsky acknowledged to The Wall Street Journal that the industry has a history of secrecy and said community leaders need to be able to share information with residents, according to The Verge. Together, the policy change and investment pledge show Amazon trying to move the debate from whether data centers impose local costs to what companies will guarantee in return. Whether that is enough to reverse the backlash remains uncertain.