Before You Join the “Revolt,” Follow the Money

Reporting indicates that Humans First was incorporated by Oliver Zhang and Arunim Agarwal, both associated with the Center for AI Safety. The organization was reportedly incubated by CAIS and received a startup loan from it. CAIS, in turn, has received significant funding from the Effective Altruist network and organizations backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Dustin Moskovitz. Humans First says it is now independent and that its loan is being repaid. That distinction is important, but it does not erase the organization’s origins.

The public deserves to know whether this is truly a bottom-up conservative movement or a professionally engineered campaign designed to give an established AI-regulation agenda a new political wrapper.

This is not about attacking anyone who has legitimate questions about data centers. Communities should demand transparency about electricity, water, infrastructure, taxes, and land use. Those questions deserve honest answers.

But transparency must work both ways.

Groups demanding disclosure from data center companies should disclose who created their organization, who financed its launch, who funds its current campaign, and who is paying for its organizers, advertising, and national tour.

Conservatives have seen this playbook before. A national advocacy network identifies a useful messenger, adopts populist language, and presents a carefully organized campaign as an organic local uprising.

Louisiana should not make major economic decisions based on borrowed branding and manufactured outrage. We should examine each project on its merits, negotiate strong protections for taxpayers and ratepayers, and insist on accountability.

Before joining the “Data Center Revolt,” conservatives should ask a very conservative question:

Who is paying for it?