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Amazon Web Services' CEO sought to counter public suspicion over the company's data center expansion by announcing it will no longer use NDAs tied to its facilities and pledging roughly $1 billion toward community initiatives. The move was intended to address local backlash over water and energy use, noise, and lack of transparency around new data center projects. However, the response drew further criticism, with observers accusing Amazon of downplaying pollution concerns and failing to meaningfully address community objections. The episode reflects a broader wave of public resistance to AI-driven data center buildouts across the US.