The 2026 midterm elections will be a referendum on the Republican Party's alignment with predatory tech giants over the public they are meant to serve, according to Guardian US columnist Rebecca Solnit. In a new opinion piece for the "How We Win" series, Solnit argues that widespread opposition to AI, datacenters, and surveillance technology represents a "beautiful hatred" that could reshape the political landscape.
Grassroots Revolt Against Big Tech
Solnit highlights that surveys show most Americans want to pause AI development, and opposition to AI datacenters is a factor in many midterm races. Datacenterwatch.org reports at least 142 activist groups across 24 states have organized to block datacenter construction and expansion. This movement spans the political spectrum, uniting people who oppose datacenters over concerns about land, water, electricity prices, and noise.
In San Francisco, more than 1,000 nurses and community members marched in September to demand hospitals cut ties with Palantir, Peter Thiel's surveillance corporation that aids Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The president of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee stated: "The violence and destruction unleashed by immigration agents and enabled by Palantir is a total violation of nursing values of care and compassion."
AI's Risks and Corporate Arrogance
Recent news stories, including statements from former Anthropic safety employee Jacob Coxon about AI's near-term apocalyptic risks, underscore the amorality of AI leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei. Anthropic's IPO documents acknowledged AI models could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity." OpenAI's David Robinson, another safety employee who recently quit, noted: "The future depends on wisdom that Silicon Valley lacks."
New organizations are emerging to combat these threats. Mothers Against Media Addiction (Mama) targets the effects of the internet and smartphones on children. The Association for Human Mathematics (AHM), founded in September, protects mathematics as a human endeavor against AI. Irreplaceable.org, launched by climate activist Phil Aroneanu, aims to regulate AI while protecting incomes, rights, freedom, and humanity. Novelist George Saunders said of AI: "Why surrender our agency ... to something that, by its very design, pushes the individual sensibility aside?"
Election Day as Judgment Day
Solnit draws parallels to Terminator 2, noting that while we won't see the spectacular destruction of Skynet, grassroots opposition may mark the beginning of a war against the machines. She emphasizes the need to define and defend what makes us human against tech's dehumanizing push. The subtitle of Terminator 2 is Judgment Day; for Solnit, judgment day in 2026 will be election day, when she will be "rooting – and voting – for humanity against oligarchical technology."
