2026年4月12日 / 美国东部时间上午10:15 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
阿奇博尔德是宾夕法尼亚州东北部的一个小角落，这里曾是煤炭产业重镇。但如今，一个新的热潮正在兴起：数据中心。
凯莉·康奈尔是一名教师，萨拉·加布里埃尔是一名重症监护室护士，两人在这个拥有7000人口的社区经营着一个邻里协会，当地已有六座数据中心的建设提案。“这是一个非常棒的小镇，”加布里埃尔说，“这里有家的感觉。”
康奈尔表示：“我真的很热爱这里，无法想象搬到其他地方生活。”
但他们和其他居民都对数据中心可能对环境、电费以及小镇风貌带来的影响感到担忧。
加布里埃尔说：“这将彻底改变这里的地貌。任何有树木的地方，可能都不会再保留了。”
康奈尔称她们态度坚定：“只要我们尽力，就能阻止这一切。”
记者罗伯特·科斯塔与阿奇博尔德邻里协会的凯莉·康奈尔和萨拉·加布里埃尔，在他们宾夕法尼亚小社区内拟建的数据中心场地合影。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
但阻止这一切并不容易。需求十分巨大：科技公司表示，需要这些满载算力的大型设施为人工智能革命提供动力。因此开发商正争相在阿奇博尔德这类土地、水源和电力资源丰富的地区兴建数据中心。但围绕数据中心带来的就业岗位和税收收入规模的争议愈演愈烈，许多社区也因电费上涨而人心惶惶。
3月10日在宾夕法尼亚州阿奇博尔德的谷景高中举行的社区会议，对数据中心建设提案者并不友好。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
在阿奇博尔德，反对数据中心的声浪已经颠覆了当地政坛。在3月10日的自治市镇会议上，许多居民举着“反对数据中心”的标语，冲着拟建数据中心的代表们大喊“滚出去”。
“我们已经下定决心：滚回家去！”一名妇女喊道。
其中一个项目——计划建设18座数据中心园区的申请已经陷入停滞。
数据中心担忧引发阿奇博尔德政坛洗牌
萨拉·加布里埃尔表示，对抗人工智能巨头并非她原本的计划：“我们并非反对人工智能数据中心。但由于这个行业太过新兴且缺乏监管，我们担心如果继续推进下去，最终会达到无法回头的地步。”
在其他地区，数据中心早已成为日常景象，全美目前已有超过4000座（且数量仍在增加）数据中心投入运营，全球各地还有更多项目正在兴建。
美国目前共有超过4000座数据中心。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻/datacentermap.com
在弗吉尼亚州劳登县，这个被称为“数据中心 Alley”的地区，外观酷似科幻场景的匿名建筑随处可见。其中一座建筑面积超过100万平方英尺，足以停放两艘航空母舰。
安迪·鲍尔是数字房地产公司的总裁兼首席执行官，该公司在全球拥有并运营着数百座数据中心。他表示，数据中心行业的市值达数千亿美元，代表着“治愈新型疾病、本质上改善生活质量的技术突破”。
当被问及如何回应那些不希望在社区内建设数据中心的居民时，鲍尔回应道：“我想说，我完全理解。让我来解释一下为什么这个选址对于数据中心来说是最合适的。这套基础设施将帮助改变你们当下乃至未来多年的生活世界。”
全球规模最大的数据中心集群之一位于弗吉尼亚州劳登县，目前已有超过5300万平方英尺的数据中心投入运营或处于建设阶段。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
在华盛顿，有尖锐批评者呼吁暂停数据中心建设，直至国会出台更严格的人工智能监管法规。上个月，佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯与纽约州民主党众议员亚历山德里亚·奥卡西奥-科特兹共同提出了《人工智能数据中心暂停法案》。
“我担心国会完全没有准备好应对已经发生的大规模变革，”桑德斯说道。
但特朗普总统和许多共和党人表示，数据中心对我们未来的经济至关重要。
宾夕法尼亚州共和党参议员戴夫·麦考密克一直致力于将数据中心投资引入家乡。他将美国在人工智能领域的领导地位称为“我国面临的最重要问题”。
“我认为宾夕法尼亚州能获得的净收益是巨大的，”他说。
麦考密克补充道，数据中心应当与社区合作而非对抗，同时他希望企业能在他所在的州开展建设。“必须达成一项契约，”他说，“必须作出承诺：从社区到社区开发者，要明确创造何种就业岗位；如何保护环境；如何保护水源供应；如何控制能源成本。当一个社区看到整体的就业岗位、税收收入、新道路、图书馆、学校以及为子女创造的就业机会时，我认为这些都是极具说服力的条件。”
回到阿奇博尔德，数据中心项目仍在推进，对于凯莉·康奈尔和萨拉·加布里埃尔而言，这是她们每天都在努力应对的现实。
“人们在这里居住是因为这里的生活质量，”康奈尔说，“没错，我们显然需要工作机会。但话说回来，这会从根本上改变阿奇博尔德自治市镇的风貌。”
当被问及她们是否认为有机会阻止项目落地时，加布里埃尔回答：“当然有。”
“我们别无选择，”康奈尔说，“这里是我们的家。我们必须战斗。”
网络独家内容：观看戴夫·麦考密克参议员关于人工智能、中国和核能的加长专访：
加长专访：戴夫·麦考密克参议员谈人工智能 15:10
Nationwide boom in AI data centers stirs resistance
April 12, 2026 / 10:15 AM EDT / CBS News
Archbald is a little corner of northeastern Pennsylvania where coal used to be big business. But now, there is a new boom: data centers.
Kayleigh Cornell, a teacher, and Sarah Gabriel, an ICU nurse, run a neighborhood association in this community of 7,000, where a half-dozen data centers have been proposed. “It is a really nice small town,” said Gabriel. “It feels like home.”
Cornell said, “I just really love it, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
But they, and others, are alarmed about the possible impact of data centers on the environment, their electric bills, and the town’s character.
Gabriel said, “It’s gonna just completely change the landscape. Anywhere there’s trees, there’s probably not going to be any any longer.”
Cornell says they are determined: “We’ll stop it if we could help it.”
Correspondent Robert Costa with Kayleigh Cornell and Sarah Gabriel, of the Archbald Neighborhood Association, at the site of proposed data centers in their small Pennsylvania community. CBS News
Stopping it won’t be easy. Demand is huge: tech companies say they need these massive structures, full of computing power, to fuel the AI revolution. So, developers are rushing to build them in places like Archbald – rich in land, water and power. But there is an intensifying debate over the scope of jobs and revenue they bring. And many communities are on edge over rising electric utility bills.
A March 10 community meeting, at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., was not welcoming to those proposing the construction of data centers. CBS News
In Archbald, the push to slow things down has upended local politics. At a March 10 borough meeting, where many held up signs reading “No data centers,” residents yelled at representatives of the proposed centers to “get out of here.”
“We made up our minds: go home!” One woman shouted.
One project, an application for a campus of 18 data centers, has hit a roadblock.
Data center concerns prompt regime change in Archbald
Sarah Gabriel says fighting AI superpowers wasn’t part of her plan: “We’re not against AI data centers. But because the industry is so new and unregulated, it is concerning that if we just keep moving forward, we’re gonna get to, like, a point of no return.”
Elsewhere, data centers are already a way of life, with more than 4,000 (and counting) in operation across the country, and many more going up around the world.
There are currently more than 4,000 data centers in the U.S. CBS News/datacentermap.com
In Loudoun County, Virginia, known as “Data Center Alley,” anonymous, sci-fi-looking buildings seem to be everywhere. One is slightly more than one-million square feet – big enough to park two aircraft carriers.
Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty, which owns and operates hundreds of data centers globally, says the data center sector is valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, and represents “the breakthroughs that cure new diseases, that’ll, say, essentially improve quality of life.”
Asked to respond to those who don’t want data centers in their communities, Power replied, “I would say, ‘I completely understand it. Let me tell you why this location makes the most sense for the data centers. And this infrastructure’s gonna help change the world you’re living in today and for years to come.’”
One of the world’s largest concentrations of data centers is in Loudon County, Virginia, with more than 53 million square feet of data centers in operation or under development. CBS News
In Washington, there are fierce critics calling for a moratorium on data center construction until tougher AI regulations are enacted by Congress. Last month, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent, and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act.
“I fear that Congress is totally unprepared for the magnitude of the changes that are already taking place,” Sanders said.
But President Trump and many Republicans say data centers are vital for our future economy.
Senator Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, has worked to bring data-center investments to his home state. He calls American leadership in AI “the most important question facing our country.
“I think the net benefit for Pennsylvania is enormous,” he said.
McCormick adds that data centers need to work with – not against – communities, but wants companies building in his state. “There’s got to be a covenant,” he said. “There’s got to be a promise that goes from the community to those that are developing in the community of what kind of job creation; how they’re going to protect the environment; how they’re going to protect water supply; how they’re going to protect energy costs. When a community looks at the totality of the jobs, the tax revenue, the new roads, the libraries, the schools, the opportunity of jobs for their kids, I think these are pretty compelling.”
Back in Archbald, the data centers continue to move forward, and for Kayleigh Cornell and Sarah Gabriel, it’s a reality they’re grappling with every day
“People live here ’cause of the quality of life,” Cornell said. “Yes, obviously you need jobs. But, again, this would be intrinsically changing the character of Archbald Borough.”
Asked if they feel they have a fighting chance to stop it, Gabriel replied, “Yeah, absolutely.”
“We have no other alternative,” Cornell said. “I mean, it’s our home. We have to fight.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Sen. Dave McCormick about AI, China and nuclear power:
Extended interview: Sen. Dave McCormick on AI 15:10
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