Resistance

Turns out not everyone wants to live in the future that AI companies are building. People from all walks of life are speaking out against rising electricity bills from data centers, disappearing jobs, chatbots’ impact on teen mental health, the military’s use of AI, and copyright infringement—among other concerns. 

This anti-AI movement is taking shape around the world. In February, hundreds of people marched past the London headquarters of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta in one of the largest protests against AI to date. And in the US in March, an unlikely coalition of MAGA Republicans, democratic socialists, labor activists, and church leaders signed a Pro-Human AI Declaration, articulating the principle that AI should serve humanity, not replace it.

In March, the biggest flash point was the US military’s use of the technology. In the wake of OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon earlier this year, users uninstalled ChatGPT in droves, while protesters chalked messages such as “What are the safeguards?” around OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco. In April, a Texas man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home in San Francisco and was found carrying an anti-AI diatribe.  

The backlash reflects deep anxieties. Last year, a Pew poll found that half of Americans are concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life, with many believing it will erode people’s ability to think creatively and form meaningful relationships. Another survey found that three-quarters of Americans worry AI could pose a threat to humanity. 

People have practical concerns, too. College graduates are having a harder time finding jobs. And a survey late last year indicated that even though AI is not yet generating substantial economic value, employers are preemptively laying off workers (though some argue that AI is just a convenient excuse for cost-cutting). In February, the financial technology company Block said it would lay off 40% of its staff. A few weeks later, the software company Atlassian announced plans to cut 1,600 employees. Employees are protesting these kinds of layoffs while labor unions mobilize for better worker protections.

Parents are also sounding the alarm. Lawsuits alleging that chatbots drove teens to suicide or self-harm are piling up. In some cities, parents are signing petitions to demand a two-year moratorium on AI in schools. 

Some of the pushback is shaping policy. In New York and California, new rules have put safeguards on AI companionship bots. Meanwhile, artists are winning small battles to protect copyright laws. In March, the UK government backtracked on plans to let AI companies train AI models on copyrighted content without permission after fierce blowback from artists.

But some of the sharpest resistance is coming from communities where data centers are built, fueled by concerns that these facilities are driving up utility bills, creating pollution, and consuming rural land. In the US, activists stalled $98 billion in data center development in the second quarter of 2025. In response, President Trump secured a pledge from AI company executives in March to cover the energy costs created by their data centers by building or buying from new power plants. 

People want to have a say in how AI transforms their future. And they’re starting to create small cracks in AI labs’ vision for the future.