Climate protesters gathered outside OpenAI's offices in Manhattan on Monday evening. Some held signs that read "Eat the rich, save the planet."
The protest was part of an "unplug AI" week of action during New York's climate week. Over the next two days, groups also picketed outside the offices of Google and Amazon.
The week was organized by Climate Defenders and the Stop Funding Billionaires campaign. Many protesters were members of climate groups in town for the global gathering, which is timed to the United Nations General Assembly.
Why Protesters Are Targeting AI Datacenters
Protesters say datacenters use large amounts of water and energy. That power often comes from fossil fuels, which bring pollution into nearby communities.
Organizers are calling for more datacenter moratoriums. They also want stronger protections for water access and limits on fossil fuel use.
Local groups have already stopped some projects. From 2024 to 2026, at least $64 billion in proposed datacenter buildout was blocked by local organizing.
Bans have now passed in at least 18 states at the local or county level. New York passed a statewide moratorium this summer.
"They are claiming that they have the power to end humanity, but at the same time can't get AI to do a lot of major things that they're pushing for," said Jonathan Westin of Climate Defenders.
Westin also pointed to Wall Street warnings that the AI boom could become an economic bubble. He said regular people should not be "left holding the bag" for billionaires.
New Mexico Residents Join the Protest
Some protesters traveled from New Mexico. A planned datacenter there, Oracle's Project Jupiter, is contracted to OpenAI.
Organizers say the project would drain water from the Rio Grande. The area has faced a 20-year drought.
"There's just so much misinformation that's being sold, not only to the elected [officials], but to the community," said Daisy Maldonado, a resident of Doña Ana County, the planned site.
Other groups raised different concerns. The anti-war group Code Pink pointed to big tech companies that work with the US military. The Guardian reported that the US has used tech from Palantir, xAI and Anthropic to set targets in the war in Iran.
Alex Hanna, director of research at the Dair Institute, called doomsday warnings from tech companies a distraction from the climate crisis. The protests followed an Anthropic employee quitting with a warning that AI builders believe "it could kill us all by the end of the decade."
Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones also spoke at Monday's protest. "This building behind me is a danger to humankind," he said, pointing at the OpenAI offices.
On Tuesday, five protesters were arrested for disrupting a keynote at an AI sustainability conference in the city. Activists said the event was "greenwashing" datacenters.
Clergy and other protesters were also arrested while disrupting a closed-door AI health summit.
On Thursday evening, protesters planned to target a Brooklyn gas power plant. The plant had been set to close until it was bought to power AI datacenters.
