The AI boom is fueling a massive infrastructure buildout that’s starting to strain critical material resources. This is evident in both computer hardware, with the memory shortage causing PC prices and other components to dramatically increase in such a short period, and the wider industry, with electricity prices surging by 267% in five years, and water-distressed communities wondering how the large amount of water that some data centers use will affect local supply.
Despite these issues, AI data centers are a crucial infrastructure that the country needs to stay ahead in the ongoing global race to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Microsoft likened the current boom in AI infrastructure construction in its “Community-First AI Infrastructure” framework to other large infrastructure projects completed in the United States in the past 250 years — from canals, railroads, and the electrical grid to highways, airports, and the telephone system. Even Nvidia's Jensen Huang has alluded to a 50-year infrastructure buildout for AI data centers. However, Microsoft argues that the extraordinary pace of building said infrastructure shouldn't come at the cost of the communities around it.
Microsoft positions itself as community-friendly
Microsoft asked, “How can our nation build transformative infrastructure in a way that strengthens, rather than strains, the local communities where it takes root?” It answered this with several points — first, the company claims that it will not drive electricity prices wherever its data centers are placed, ensuring that its rates cover its usage and the infrastructure investments needed to deliver that.
Secondly, Microsoft committed to reducing the amount of water that its data centers use, and will ensure that it replenishes any supply used through various short-term and long-term projects.
Aside from electricity and water supply concerns, the tech giant also gave assurances that it will invest in the local population. This includes immediate initiatives, like training local populations for employment within data centers in construction and maintenance, in addition to longer-term undertakings, including AI-focused training for students and teachers in the community, as well as AI skill-building programs in local libraries.
Finally, the company promised that it would “add to the tax base,” paying its fair share of property taxes to give municipal governments the funds to build local infrastructure like hospitals, schools, libraries, parks, and more.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
While these are big public commitments, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft might be able to deliver on them. The company is laying out a longer-term vision for how it might support the communities it is building around. The company has also commented that it's already seen results in various municipalities: namely, Quincy, Washington, Boydton, Virginia, and Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin. Additionally, the company also canceled its plan to build a data center in Caledonia, Wisconsin, after backlash from the local populace.
A lead for other hyperscalers to follow
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