Council meeting attendees worry Maine will be left 'holding the bag' when AI bubble bursts

More than 100 people attended the first of two virtual hearings held by the Maine Data Center Advisory Council on Thursday. Many are asking the council to recommend a moratorium or outright ban on large-scale data centers in the state. Duncan Whitmire of South Portland said he's worried about what happens to the buildings, land and communities if or when the AI bubble bursts. "So, if that happens, if they just pack up and leave, who is left holding the bag? What's going to happen to those communities?" he asked. "So if we cut down the trees, if we pollute the rivers and the waterways, we're left with big grey slabs of deteriorating concrete, that's not the Maine that I want to pass on to my kids."