Amazon is pledging greater transparency and more than $1 billion in additional community support as it tries to win over sceptics around its data centre in New Carlisle, Indiana.

Amazon has laid out in a memo the steps it is taking to support the communities hosting its data centres.

The cloud computing giant is working hard to present itself as a friendly corporate citizen as it seeks broader public support for artificial intelligence data centre construction.

In a memo released on Friday, the company said the race for AI dominance is "a race America cannot afford to lose" as it unveiled a series of measures to help the communities where its data centres are located.

The document, more than 3,100 words long, was published by Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman.

It said Amazon will invest more than $1 billion in additional funding for those communities over the next five years, on top of existing commitments, with the money going to education, job training, water conservation and other local priorities.

Garman responded to widespread concerns about the environmental impact of data centres, their effect on energy prices and doubts about how many jobs they actually create, while warning that a great deal of misinformation is circulating.

The intervention comes at a critical moment, as data centre projects are losing public support.

Technology companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to expand computing capacity, but politicians who once strongly backed AI infrastructure are now criticising such projects.

Amazon has said it plans capital spending of $220 billion in 2026, with the vast majority going to data centres.

Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the US House Judiciary Committee, wrote to Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle on Tuesday, asking the four companies for information on confidentiality agreements signed with government officials related to data centre construction.

Garman said on Friday that Amazon no longer uses such confidentiality agreements.

Technology companies are trying to defuse growing opposition through subsidies, local town hall meetings and public warnings about the negative consequences of slower expansion.

In the memo, Amazon wrote that it will work with local officials to ensure the economic benefits reach local residents and will hold open days at its sites to "encourage open dialogue".

The document also said Amazon operates data centres with leading energy efficiency levels and will publish an annual report detailing utility consumption and energy efficiency.

Some competitors moved earlier to address the backlash.

Microsoft announced in March that it would stop signing confidentiality agreements with local governments in areas where projects are planned, while Meta set up a $1 billion fund in August to give back to communities hosting its data centres.

Speaking about confidentiality agreements, David Zapolsky, Amazon's global head of public affairs and legal, said in an interview that the industry has historically operated in secret and that some practices were simply a matter of habit.

"Continuing to require confidentiality agreements no longer makes sense, and local leaders need to be able to share information publicly with their constituents," he said.

In Friday's memo, Garman compared the building of AI data centres to the construction of the US interstate highway system in the mid-20th century, describing both as historic moments that can reshape the national economy and determine the country's future.

He also warned about proposed bans on data centre construction in some areas.

"If such bans take effect, it would amount to America choosing to lose this race, and the negative consequences would last for generations. As a country, we cannot afford that outcome," Garman wrote.