NDAs keep AI data center details hidden from Americans (www.nbcnews.com)

Across the U.S., tech giants quietly courting sites for hyperscale data centers — the massive server farms that power AI services — are asking landowners and local governments to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that conceal project details, NBC News found. In Mason County, KY, farmers were offered greatly inflated prices but told little beyond promises of industrial development; elsewhere, projects like “Project Blue” (Amazon Web Services, near Tucson) and “Project Cumulus” (Saint Charles, MO) used NDAs and shell firms to hide sponsors. A review of more than 30 proposals across 14 states showed NDAs are common and can bar elected officials from informing constituents; NDAs often last years and include clauses to limit public-records disclosure. Proponents say secrecy protects competitive strategy, while critics argue it undermines democratic oversight. For the AI/ML community this matters because the rollout of AI services depends on vast new physical infrastructure with concrete environmental and operational implications: hyperscale centers draw enormous electricity and water, use large cooling systems and backup generators (including methane turbines in at least one case), and can stress local grids and aquifers. Secrecy hampers community input and infrastructure planning, raising regulatory and reputational risks that have already led to canceled projects and policy pushback. The episode highlights a tension between rapid AI infrastructure buildouts and the need for transparent, accountable siting to avoid supply‑chain, energy, and social license disruptions that could slow AI deployment.