Verb CEO Cyrus Beschloss is calling AI non-believers’ bluff.
Beschloss said critics of AI and the data centers that power it aren’t above using the technology.
“All the people that are saying they’re anti-data center, that they’re anti-AI in general, they’re using it,” Beschloss said on Wednesday during CNBC’s Trading the Midterms event.
He said that when people have to choose between shutting down data centers or shutting down ChatGPT, it won’t be an easy decision.
“There’s going to be a heck of a crossroads,” Beschloss said.
His company, Verb, is a data exchange where users can get paid by selling their proprietary information to data-hungry AI companies. Users can decide which data to share, set their reserve price, and buyers can decide whether to purchase it.
Verb says its data shows that among people who use AI assistants, the majority of the queries dealt with schoolwork, writing, business, and side hustles.
OpenAI transformed society in 2022 when it released its chatbot, ChatGPT. Tech companies have raced to dominate the market ever since. Meta, Google, and other major players have invested heavily in developing AI, which they say will revolutionize everything from health to work.
Critics of AI, however, say the benefits don’t outweigh the risks. They’re concerned about the potential for AI to displace human jobs, destroy the environment, co-opt copyrighted material, and even destroy humanity as we know it.
Data centers, which tech companies need to power their AI systems, are a glaring physical manifestation of those concerns. Supporters say building more data centers will create new jobs, bolster economies, and strengthen the country’s national security. Others say they will strain electrical grids, raise utility prices, damage the environment, and disrupt daily life. A Gallup survey published in May said 7 of 10 surveyed Americans oppose building a data center near their homes.
President Donald Trump’s administration has broadly supported AI development and the expansion of the nation’s infrastructure, including the $500 billion Stargate Project, an initiative backed by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The initiative was launched in 2025 to build new AI infrastructure.
