As Europe accelerates its AI ambitions, political conflict is shifting from abstract ethics debates to concrete infrastructure battles: data centres, electricity demand, land use, and the fear of AI-driven labour displacement. Communities already worry about rising energy prices, while local leaders struggle to balance investment, jobs, and environmental pressures. What is now the biggest AI policy debate in the US is coming to Europe fast — and political actors, campaigns, and regulators are unprepared for how quickly it could reshape public opinion. 

In this session, Daniela Schwarzer (Bertelsmann Foundation), David Bluestone (Panterra) and Tim Gordon (BestPractice AI) unpack how data-centre expansion will collide with Green Deal commitments, local politics, labour markets, and digital sovereignty narratives. 

We’ll explore the political tech implications: how political actors will weaponise energy data, how to communicate AI infrastructure benefits credibly, how Europe can avoid an anti-AI backlash by building public consent early – and what legacy a potentially imploding AI bubble will leave in terms of infrastructure.