Dear Reader,

AI data centers are on everyone's mind, and, at least in the public media, the opinions tend to the extremes. Some people want to abolish data centers completely, and on the other side is the tech-is-beautiful set, funded by an army of billionaires, who advocate full-steam transformation of the civilization to see where it will end up.

In the USA, polls show that most voters are opposed to the rapid build-out of data centers – especially when it comes to their home territory. The state of New York recently announced a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers, which caused President Donald Trump to state on his personal microblogging platform, "New York should change its policy IMMEDIATELY" [his caps]. "The Radical Left Democrats must not be allowed to cause us to lose Data Centers, AI, and all this incredible new technology to China and other countries." [1] The president's words leave much to challenge – beginning with the characterization of New York Governor Kathy Hochul as a "radical left" Democrat (most of the radical leftists I know don't claim her). But I'm here for tech, not politics. If you take a closer look at the executive order establishing New York's moratorium, you'll find not a radical extreme but an attempt to find middle ground that will address the legitimate concerns of the citizens and still (ideally) provide a way for the technology to evolve in a sustainable way.

The first thing to notice is that a moratorium is not an abolition. What the order actually does is pause state environmental permits for up to one year in order to create a "… regulatory framework that protects ratepayers, the environment, the energy grid, and communities across the state." [2] Like other governments around the world, New York is most concerned about how an AI data center will affect power and water usage. Part of the regulatory framework will be developing a standard form for a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) that will ensure a clear understanding of environmental impacts and a consistent model for evaluating proposals.

The governor is also calling for a Community Investment Framework (CIF) that will "… provide clear guidance to local entities to help them negotiate community benefits as part of any large-scale data center deal, including local infrastructure improvements, child care investments, and direct financial support for their community." Large corporations often play communities against each other in an attempt to maximize tax breaks and other perks from the city or county. The CIF will provide cities with guidance on how to negotiate, addressing issues such as labor and community investment. Also included in the governor's initiative is a proposal to consider creating a Grid Acceleration Fund to provide a uniform way for data centers to invest in the aging electrical grid to offset their expanded use of electrical power.

These changes won't eliminate data centers, but they will create a uniform system for ensuring that power usage, environmental impact, and other concerns are addressed. Will it raise the cost of building a data center? Possibly, but so far it appears that money is no object for the huge companies investing billions in gargantuan data facilities. But if addressing these well-studied social impacts does reduce the number of AI-based data centers, will we be worse off? Who can tell? No one really knows how many hyperscale data centers we actually need. We're all just guessing.

Editor in Chief, Joe Casad