AI, Land, and the Fight for Local Control: What the “Big Beautiful Bill” Just Set in Motion

A 4.5 million square-foot data center in Alabama is just the beginning. Fueled by the “Big Beautiful Bill,” federal fast-track authority is stripping local communities of power as AI infrastructure swallows rural land and water. With $24 trillion in farmland poised to change hands, tech giants aren’t buying ranches—they’re replacing them.