Hyperscalers have got a huge PR problem with data centers—this regulation academic has figured out the playbook for what they should do next
It’s a question that will define the next phase of the economy’s AI transformation: How will tech giants solve their PR problem with data centers?
Key points
- Indeed, it’s already too late to decide whether the liability buck stops with AI companies or the government, the academic added: “The investment we have is so huge as a percentage of the [U.S.] GDP that they’re already too big to fail.
- Gadinis, faculty director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, says there is a “better way.” Speaking exclusively to Fortune on the sidelines of Web Summit in Lisbon, Professor Gadinis explains: “So, that playbook involves, first off, outreach to impacted parties and impacted communities.
- They became too big to fail almost instantly in 2023.” It’s “very hard” to imagine the government not being a backstop in any potential crisis, he added, “especially in an issue that the government itself has elevated into a national security concern.
Professor Jeremy Siegel, emeritus professor of finance at Wharton, suggests: “If one community rejects a data center, another will welcome the investment, jobs, and tax revenues.” But Stavros Gadinis, a law professor at UC Berkeley, suggests history has already provided a “playbook” for next steps.
Additional details
- McKinsey estimates that between 2024 and 2030, demand for data centers will nearly quadruple, from 25 GW to more than 80 GW.
- Some experts say that the tension between an aversion to data centers and the economic need will find its own balance.
- GDP growth would have almost flatlined.” But there’s a snag: Communities don’t want data centers on their doorsteps.
- So we actually need to take some steps to bring everyone closer together in that question.” The regulation issue The other question hanging over the AI sector is regulation.
- A Pew Research study from September suggests environmental concerns are a leading factor in the negative perception of the builds, followed by home energy costs and the quality of life for people living nearby.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
Advertisement
Every article behind this summary — 1 article from 1 outlet
Get stories like this in your inbox.
Subscribe — it's freeOne free email at 6am — your topics, deduplicated, five minutes. No account, no paywall.