Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a message for the AI industry: before we build another server farm, how about we build some houses?

Sanders took to X on Sunday to criticize the expanding AI data center boom, pointing to public opposition and pitching a different way to spend the money.

“Instead of building more AI data centers, which 66% of Americans oppose, I have a better idea,” he wrote.

His better idea: tackle the housing shortage by building “7 million affordable homes & apartments.” He also called for more investment in essential public infrastructure, including “more hospitals, schools & childcare centers.”

“Let’s create an economy that works for all, not just the top 1 percent,” he added.

The Pushback Against Data Centers Is Getting Loud

Sanders isn't shouting into the void here. The AI buildout has been running into real-world friction, and some of the loudest warnings are coming from people you wouldn't expect to be AI skeptics.

Last month, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary warned that 65% of announced AI data center projects might never be built because of power shortages, water constraints, connectivity issues and political opposition. Even so, he expected demand for computing capacity to triple by the fourth quarter of 2027.

In August, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) warned that data center expansion was placing environmental and infrastructure burdens on local communities. He proposed a Data Center Bill of Rights that would let residents oppose projects and restrict construction in residential areas and farmland. He also accused companies of shifting electricity, water and infrastructure costs onto ordinary ratepayers.

In June, billionaire investor Mark Cuban argued that opposition to AI data centers reflected broader concerns about job displacement and wealth concentration. He said AI companies had “lost the PR battle” by failing to address public concerns and urged them to support communities facing potential automation-related job losses.

Musk: Demand Is Strong, But Building Is Hard

In October, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) CEO Elon Musk said demand for AI data centers remained strong but warned that securing funding did not guarantee successful construction and operation, citing the complex power, cooling and networking requirements.

His remarks came as investors raised concerns about rising borrowing costs and returns on AI infrastructure investments.

So you have a senator saying spend it on homes and hospitals, a venture capitalist saying most of these projects won't get built anyway, a congressman proposing a bill of rights for data center neighbors, and a tech CEO saying the money is the easy part. That's a lot of people, from very different corners, agreeing that the AI buildout has a permitting-and-politics problem as much as an engineering one.

Whether Sanders' 7 million homes materialize is, of course, its own political question. But his post captures something real: the data center boom is no longer just a story about chips and capital expenditure. It's a story about who pays for the power lines, who lives next to the cooling towers, and what else that money could have bought.