‘Nobody’s negotiating for the people here’: comedian Charlie Berens takes on AI datacenters | US news
Publish Date: 2026-05-17 07:01:00
Source Domain: www.theguardian.com
Here are 6 key points from the article:
1. Comedian Charlie Berens used his platform to address the growing concern around large AI datacenters being proposed in Wisconsin. He accused tech companies of using the state as a “dumping ground” without transparency.
2. Berens highlighted the lucrative tax incentives offered to datacenter developers, which gave an estimated $458 million in tax breaks to Vantage over 20 years, while the city did not receive any tax revenue in the interim.
3. His first viral “Manitowoc Minute” video on the topic garnered over 2.5 million views and signaled the rise of public resistance to these datacenter projects in the state.
4. Berens has since become a prominent advocate against such projects, leading events, publishing videos and collaborating with activists and experts to educate the public. However, this has drawn criticism from pro-business groups and labor unions in Wisconsin.
5. Concerns around the environmental impacts, tax incentives and secret dealings of developers has led to bipartisan resistance to datacenters in Wisconsin, including a referendum in Port Washington requiring voter approval for future districts over $10 million.
6. Berens and fellow critic Prescott Balch argue that there is a lack of information and transparency around these developments, leaving local communities ill-informed about the true size and potential environmental harm of these projects.
