The hard physics and complex economics of AI’s insatiable hunger for power
Data centers, the windowless, anonymous, boxy structures that few people even notice, have become a rare unifying force across the polarized American landscape this year. Everyone seems to hate them.
The explosion in data center construction has been fueled by intense interest in artificial intelligence, a technology that demands unprecedented amounts of computing power. Fitch Group Inc. estimates that the top five hyperscalers will spend $750 billion on data center construction this year, with three-quarters earmarked for AI.
But skepticism about AI’s impact on jobs, combined with perceptions about data centers’ disruptive impacts on communities, power grids and water supplies, have stoked a lot of outrage.
A Heatmap survey published last week found that three-quarters of Americans now oppose the construction of new data centers in their communities. Activists have organized more than 130 protests across dozens of states. The issue has even become a talking point in the upcoming midterm elections.
