Humans First Ends Data-Center Protest Tour at Major AI Companies, Demanding Local Input

The bus declared “AI Data Center Revolt,” but its organizers insisted they were not against AI—or even data centers. On October 5, Humans First ended its five-week nationwide protest tour at major technology companies in the San Francisco area, demanding that residents have a say before companies build the infrastructure behind their AI ambitions.

The final day included visits to Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta and Nvidia facilities. NBC News reporter Jared Perlo spoke with the organizers outside Anthropic’s downtown San Francisco headquarters, where their bus drew photographs from returning software engineers. The trip covered more than 8,000 miles and more than 35 community stops.

Humans First began this year as a coalition of left- and right-wing activists concerned about technology leaders overriding public influence over AI. It has since become a conservative-only effort led by Amy Kremer. A veteran tea party organizer, Kremer also helped organize the rally preceding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

A revolt over who gets a say

Senior adviser Kylie Jane Kremer, Amy Kremer’s daughter, pointed to the group’s 13-point Data Center Policy. It emphasizes community control over planning, opposes data centers increasing electricity prices and rejects the use of American facilities for unconstitutional surveillance. Those demands combine local construction concerns with objections to how the infrastructure might be used.

Despite the bus’s confrontational slogan, Kylie Jane Kremer said the group was not anti-AI, anti-technology or anti-data-center. Her stated goal was development that prioritizes Americans and benefits the communities hosting the facilities, rather than excluding residents from decisions about projects in their towns.

I want Big Tech to actually include the American people and allow them to have a seat at the table

Kylie Jane Kremer, senior adviser at Humans First, speaking to NBC News

A conservative challenge to Trump’s AI push

That position cuts against President Donald Trump’s embrace of data centers and AI construction as an economic boon. Trump has called AI a “golden goose.” Amy Kremer said she strongly disagreed with him on AI, arguing that MAGA supporters need not agree with the president on every policy. Her opposition does not mean abandoning her political alignment.

Kremer instead blamed technology investors for using Trump’s attention to advance policies opposed to guardrails. She also said conversations at the tour’s rallies had moved beyond immediate data-center impacts: more attendees were raising fears about AI’s wider risks to society. That was her account of the audiences, not a measure of national opinion.

The company visits were not the culmination of extensive outreach to the businesses themselves. Kremer said she had not tried hard to contact anyone at Anthropic, OpenAI or the other companies. Several team members said they did not expect a warm reception. Kremer described her role as carrying a message between communities whose residents felt isolated in their local disputes.