The Effingham County data center proposal drew national attention this week as the conservative AI Data Center Revolt bus rolled into Springfield on Tuesday afternoon ahead of a county commission meeting. The bus carried speakers condemning the murky planning for centers and brought out disgruntled residents who shared their complaints about data center transparency.

The Revolt bus tour is run by Humans First, a conservative organization founded by Amy Kremer who is a founder of the Tea Party and a Georgia state RNC National Committeewoman. The group advocates for American First values in connection with national artificial intelligence discussions and data center rollouts. 

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Standing outside the bus was a group of about 20 people, including speakers with Human First who made it clear that their messaging was not anti-AI, or even fully anti-data centers, but were instead anti-community exclusion in decisions about their construction.  

“We’re tired of these NDAs, these shell companies, the secretive way they’re coming into communities all across the nation, and we want to give the people a voice and let our legislators know this is not the way we want to handle this,” said Cathy Latham, Texas State Director for Humans First.

Kylie Jane Kremer, Amy Kremer’s daughter, came to the podium with a message on “Big Tech” hypocrisy in messaging about the “AI race against China.” The younger Kremer questioned the truth behind tech companies’ claims of being in this race while they sell chips to China, “our enemies,” fail to invest in American infrastructure and create dependency on foreign imports through the use of tech like Chinese lithium batteries. 

“We’re told to build faster, to build more, to spend more, to consume more power and water, and hand AI companies whatever they demand so that we can beat China,” Kylie said. “But what are some American technology companies actually doing?”

Kremer cautioned listeners to not be afraid of fearful messaging about the potential threats from AI, including hastening the end of humanity and setting bots to go rogue. Instead, she asked them to speak with their legislators to urge Republicans to lead the charge in legislations surrounding AI that could safeguard Americans. 

“We certainly don’t want China to win this AI war, again, whatever that means. But we know we can have innovation and ingenuity right along with the safety of the American people,” Kylie Kremer said. 

“Winning the race” may mean more data centers, but data centers can go anywhere, even space, said James Lyle, Humans First program director. He said local areas should have autonomy in decisionmaking about where the development will go.  

Raymond Carver, Effingham resident and plaintiff against Effingham County, speaks with attendees, including the Kylie Jane Kremer, daughter of Human First chair Amy Kremer. Credit: Adithi Vimalanathan/ The Current GA

Child safety was a concern for multiple speakers. Lyle shared the story of 14-year-old Sewell Setzell III, who took his own life after being encouraged by an AI chatbot and the story of the shooting in May at Florida State University that was allegedly planned with the assistance of AI. Latham, who was a teacher for 30 years in Georgia, echoed concerns for youth, saying though it can be a helpful tool for teachers, students shouldn’t have access to AI in classes. 

“Students are not capable of safely using it because they know how to get around the guardrails,” Latham said. 

The crowd was asked to share their concerns after remarks were finished. Belmont Glen resident Raymond Carver, one of the plaintiffs suing Effingham County over the data center deal, said that OpenAI staff had gone door-to-door the day before to share pamphlets and talk about the project. His neighborhood is close to the site of the proposed development.

“They see what we’re doing, they’re afraid of what we’re doing,” Carver said, noting the change in language from OpenAI back to calling the data center “proposed” rather than a “done deal.”  

The bus stayed until around 4:30 p.m. as the  Effingham County Commission work session inside the adjacent building focused on data center discussions. The agenda item on the OpenAI data center site plan review was postponed Monday ahead of the 5 p.m. Tuesday meeting. 

Sarah Harwell is social media editor for The Current GA. She is a Florida native and graduate of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She has served as a brand engagement manager for Centric magazine...