AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 24 (Our Texas Times) — Humans First, a group chaired by former Tea Party leader Amy Kremer, plans to launch a nationwide bus tour in Austin on Sept. 12 to oppose the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers.
The “Data Center Revolt” is aimed at building local opposition to large facilities that provide the computing power used by AI systems. The tour is scheduled to travel through the South and up the East Coast, with stops in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, before ending in Silicon Valley, California, according to Humans First.
The group has not released a full itinerary or identified a venue for the Austin launch.
What is the group opposing?
A data center is a large building filled with computer servers and related equipment. AI companies use these facilities to train and run AI models. The centers can require substantial amounts of electricity, cooling equipment, land and, in some cases, water.
Humans First says communities should have more information and a stronger role in decisions about new facilities. Its concerns include possible effects on utility bills, infrastructure costs, water demand, noise, land use and the environment.
Those concerns are positions advanced by the group. The available material does not independently verify the group’s claims about the effects of specific projects.
The campaign is not calling for a nationwide ban. Kremer has said Humans First opposes blanket state and federal bans and instead wants local transparency and community representation. The group describes the current expansion as an “unaccountable” buildout and an “unacceptable infringement on our liberty,” according to Reuters.
Why is Austin important?
Austin is the planned starting point for a campaign that presents data-center growth as a national issue. Texas also has been a major center of opposition activity. Reuters reported 18 protests in Texas on July 18, the largest number of protests in any state in its account of that day’s demonstrations.
Humans First coordinated that national protest effort. Reuters reported 142 events in 42 states. Earlier reports had cited at least 125 planned locations, a difference that may reflect changes in planning or the way events were counted.
The supplied information does not identify an Austin data-center project, neighborhood group, utility proceeding or city action directly tied to the September launch.
What does the tour seek to change?
The campaign’s focus is political and local rather than a change to the technology itself. Humans First wants communities to receive more information about proposed data centers and to have a role in decisions involving land, power, water and public infrastructure.
Kremer said the tour is responding to what she described as an effort by Big Tech to force AI technology on the public. “The American people are very upset over the technology and the buildout,” she said.
The group’s position puts it against data-center developers and technology companies generally, but the supplied materials do not identify a specific company as the target of the Austin event.
Why are the group’s origins being questioned?
The campaign has also faced questions about how it was formed and funded. Reports citing California public records said Oliver Zhang and Arunim Agarwal incorporated Humans First in January 2026 while they were staff members at the Center for AI Safety, or CAIS.
The same reports connected CAIS to funding from Open Philanthropy, which was founded by Dustin Moskovitz. The available material does not include the underlying funding records or responses from CAIS, Open Philanthropy, Zhang or Agarwal.
Kremer said Humans First received an initial startup loan from CAIS and is repaying it. She also said the organization does not disclose individual donors and denied that Humans First received money from Open Philanthropy.
The available records described in the research do not establish the organization’s full donor list, the terms or repayment status of the reported loan, or whether Open Philanthropy provided money to Humans First. Those questions remain separate from the group’s stated policy demands.
For now, the Austin event is the first scheduled stop in a national campaign that seeks to turn local disputes over AI infrastructure into a broader debate about public oversight, costs and community power.
