Amazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, opening a new chapter in the public debate over AI infrastructure. The company announced the change on Oct 9, 2026, following Microsoft’s similar move earlier this year.
The decision comes after secrecy fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure. Opposition has led to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco, putting local government negotiations at the center of a much larger fight over how AI gets built.
Data center talks move into the open
Anthony Ha described the shift in direct terms: “Amazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments.” The policy puts Amazon alongside Microsoft, which previously stopped using NDAs in data center deals.
For communities, the change addresses a clear source of frustration: important discussions about AI infrastructure can happen behind closed doors, while the results affect local areas. The backlash has already taken a concrete form, with hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums stretching from New York to San Francisco.
That response shows why data center negotiations now carry weight beyond individual projects. Secrecy has fueled opposition, and the opposition has pushed local governments toward moratoriums. Amazon’s move does not erase that conflict, but it changes how the company says it will handle future discussions with local governments.
The timing also places Amazon’s announcement beside a broader set of arguments about AI’s direction. From data centers to software agents, the technology is asking communities and consumers to accept new forms of access, control, and risk.
AI agents want access to everyday digital life
Startups are betting that consumers will hand AI agents access to their inboxes, files, and credit cards if websites allow them in. That vision moves AI agents beyond answering questions or generating content. It asks people to let them reach into the places where personal information and payment details already sit.
The bet depends on trust. Consumers would need to accept AI agents inside systems that hold emails, documents, and financial information, while websites would need to allow those agents in. The facts point to a sharp contrast: communities are pushing back against secrecy around physical AI infrastructure, while startups are asking consumers to approve access to personal digital infrastructure.
Both debates turn on who gets access and who sets the boundaries. Amazon’s decision concerns negotiations with local governments. The startup bet concerns inboxes, files, and credit cards. In each case, the public response will shape how much room AI companies have to build and operate.
Washington adds a new layer to the AI debate
The policy shift comes during a week filled with high-level AI discussions. On October 4, 2026, the U.S. government renamed AI to super intelligence, after President Donald Trump hosted AI leaders and announced the shift. Anthropic was involved in discussions with the Trump administration, and Dario Amodei is the CEO of Anthropic.
Anthony Ha summarized the change this way: “Officially, by order of the president of the United States, it’s not artificial intelligence anymore, it’s super intelligence.” The new label adds political language to an already heated conversation about what AI means and how people should respond to it.
Kirsten Korosec captured the appeal behind that language: “To me, that was the message. ‘AI is going to kill us, it’s scary, it is going to take jobs — but super intelligence is not.’” The quote frames the renaming as an attempt to separate fear around AI from a more positive view of what comes next.
That messaging faces its own questions. Sean O’Kane said of the government’s position: “It is also just deeply non-binding. I mean, it is completely voluntary. I think my favorite aspect about it was that Trump described it as quote ‘morally binding,’ which is just a level of abstraction and terminology that I’ve never heard of before.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk were present at the luncheon with tech leaders. Their presence connects the policy discussion to the companies and investors shaping the future of AI, even as local governments and consumers decide how much access they will allow.
One debate, two tests of trust
Amazon’s announcement will be measured by what happens when the company negotiates future data center deals with local governments. The response from those communities will show whether ending NDAs can reduce the backlash that has produced hundreds of moratoriums.
AI agents face a different test. Startups must persuade consumers and websites to accept access to inboxes, files, and credit cards. That proposal puts trust at the heart of the next stage of AI adoption.
Discussions around these issues will continue during the Disrupt event in San Francisco from October 13 through 15, 2026. The topics may range from data centers and government policy to AI agents and consumer access, but the central question stays the same: how much control will people keep as AI expands into public infrastructure and private digital life?
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