The AI goldrush roars on. Hyperscalers like Google and artificial intelligence (AI) upstarts like OpenAI continue to pour massive sums into building gargantuan data centers, often in small- and medium-sized communities.
As the deals proliferate, concerns are rising about the huge amounts of electricity and water required to keep the centers running. At the same time, pitched battles over zoning and permitting rules are pitting tech-firm developers against local land-use managers, especially in rural and exurban America.
Yet beyond such infrastructure and resource concerns, sharp debates are also engulfing the facilities’ core economic proposition for communities. Local leaders are questioning the credibility of Big Tech’s promises of spillover effects that will produce high-quality economic development beyond near-term construction. What’s more, skeptics are wondering about the veracity of the developers’ assurances of a thrilling new era of “reindustrialization” across Main Street America.
These debates raise fundamental questions: To what extent are the data center builders’ promises of economic development more than hype? And if these promises are more than hype, how can communities make sure these pledges translate into a durable local economic advantage?