The fight over artificial intelligence has spilled far beyond the lab and into the middle of a bigger political brawl. A senior War Department official says foreign adversaries are working to stir up resistance to data centers and AI progress, while lawmakers warn the U.S. cannot afford to fall behind in a race that now touches national security, energy, and the economy.
Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said foreign opponents are using propaganda and “malign influence” to shape public opinion against the infrastructure needed for advanced AI. His warning was blunt: if an adversary does not want America building super intelligence first, it makes sense for that adversary to push fear, confusion, and distrust into the conversation.
Michael argued that some of that messaging has already landed. He said the push from the White House to frame AI as a strategic asset is part of a broader effort to push back on what he described as a coordinated attempt to poison the public mood around the technology.
At the center of the dispute are data centers, the giant power-hungry facilities that store and run the computing muscle behind modern AI. Michael called them the “electricity that fuels the superintelligence revolution,” making the case that building them is not some optional tech hobby, but a core part of keeping America competitive.
That urgency has made data centers a political flashpoint ahead of the midterm elections. Some lawmakers see them as a common-sense investment in America’s future, while opponents argue that the industry brings environmental and community concerns that cannot be ignored.
Protests have been popping up across the country, and some officials believe the movement is being amplified by outside forces. The suspicion is not just about ordinary grassroots activism, but about whether foreign influence is quietly steering the tone and direction of the backlash.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tied the argument to a familiar pattern, comparing the current fight to past campaigns against fracking and domestic energy production. His view was simple: if Americans are persuaded not to build the tools they need, somebody else gets the advantage.
“The same is true on data centers. If they can convince Americans, ‘You don’t want data centers here, you want to just rely on the Chinese for AI,’ that’s great for China, and it’s terrible for America.”
Questions about influence have also centered on the flow of money into activist networks opposing data center development. Lawmakers have pointed to Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon with ties to pro-Chinese Communist Party groups, and the large sums he has funneled into nonprofit organizations that have taken leading roles in the fight.
Those groups include the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition, both of which have been active in organizing protests and messaging against AI expansion. In one recent demonstration in Chapel Hill, activists mixed anti-Trump slogans with support for communist Cuba and demands to shut the projects down.
The controversy has only sharpened the sense that this is about more than local zoning fights or utility bills. For supporters of expansion, the issue is whether America keeps building the digital backbone of the future or lets fear and outside pressure slow the pace.
Michael also described how deeply AI has already spread inside the Department of War. He said usage has jumped sharply since Pete Hegseth took over, with the number of users rising from roughly 70,000 to about 1.7 million across the workforce.
That growth, he said, is not just about convenience. The department is using AI for enterprise operations, warfighting, and intelligence, and the payoff is already showing up in the form of faster work and sharper decision-making.
Michael said some tasks that once took 200 hours can now be reduced to two, which changes the tempo inside an institution built around speed and precision. In a world where rivals are trying to close the gap, even small efficiencies can become a big edge.
