Data centers aren’t the problem — it’s really about how we build them

New data center construction has become a controversial issue in many communities across the United States. They are electricity and water hogs, pushing utility costs higher for residents and businesses. Some areas have held referendums to keep them away. Despite such headwinds, more data centers are not only needed, they are essential national infrastructure to ensure that the AI revolution will continue. 

Data centers are at the foundation of the digital economy, housing the computing power needed to train and operate increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems. Preserving American leadership in AI requires growing this computing infrastructure. To reduce tensions around data centers, we must also rethink how to build them and position them to be better partners with communities where they are sited.

The problems surrounding data centers are well documented and very real. Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity. This power demand strains local grids and can potentially put upward pressure on electricity prices. The same issue applies to water, which many data centers use for cooling their computer equipment. No one wants to pay more for essential resources because of a shortage that they are not responsible for and perhaps do not directly benefit from.

But these concerns do not capture the full picture of the situation. 

The U.S. houses more than 4,700 data centers. That is more than the total number in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Japan and China combined. This concentration of computing infrastructure may seem more than enough to some, but such computing power does not just........

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