Pennsylvania’s A.I. Gold Rush Meets Second Thoughts

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced in 2026 that Pennsylvania would scale back its aggressive recruitment of large artificial intelligence data centers, reversing a prior push to attract the facilities to the state. The reversal followed opposition from residents and environmental groups concerned about energy consumption and land use. Some Pennsylvania communities, particularly in former industrial areas, had backed the data center projects as sources of construction jobs and tax revenue.

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