Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman has announced that the company will no longer use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in its dealings with government agencies, as it seeks approval to build new data centers. This comes in the wake of widespread suspicion and backlash against data centers, with environmental activists like Erin Brockovich highlighting transparency issues in project announcements and permits.

Garman’s attempt to address these concerns includes countering four big myths: that data centers consume too much water, increase electricity costs, emit an enormous amount of pollution, and don’t provide any benefits to their communities. He cites an Amazon report that claims data center water consumption accounts for only 0.5% of all industrial water usage in the United States, compared to other industries like golf courses and almond farming.

However, critics argue that these claims ignore the broader water usage involved in electricity generation and chip manufacturing. Additionally, an independent watchdog recently stated that data centers were the main culprit behind a significant increase in electricity prices on America’s largest electrical grid. Garman also addressed the pollution issue, stating that data center generators are idle 99.9% of the time, citing Amazon's own data centers in Texas as proof.

Despite these efforts, community suspicion remains. The AI backlash, as Dario Amodei describes it, is fundamentally a crisis of trust. When presented with tech companies’ arguments, opponents often respond with skepticism, questioning the motives behind such claims.