As AI infrastructure scales, a new constraint is emerging: acceptance. In key markets, data center development is no longer judged on speed and capacity alone. Power consumption, land use, water, and grid impact are now front and center—shaping permitting timelines, community response, and long-term viability.

The challenge is not just opposition. It’s alignment—and credibility. Communities are responding less to what the industry says it will do, and more to what it actually delivers: how projects are designed and built, how resources are used, how transparently developers engage, and whether local economic benefits are real and durable.

This closing session reframes “social license” as an outcome of execution, not messaging.

Topics include:

• Where and why data center projects are facing pushback in today’s market • How early decisions on siting, power, and design shape community outcomes years later

• What responsible growth looks like under real power, land, and policy constraints

• How workforce development, local participation, and construction practices influence trust

• Whether current frameworks and narratives are keeping pace with the scale and visibility of AI-led development

The discussion focuses on what actually builds trust—and what erodes it—recognizing that the next phase of growth won’t be decided by demand alone, but by whether communities will accept the infrastructure required to support it.