No matter where you look these days, you see arguments for and against data centers. So just what are these contentious objects of both praise and scorn?
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Data centers are large, warehouse-like structures dedicated to producing the computer power needed for artificial intelligence. Obviously, A.I. requires massive amounts of computer power to provide the necessary “intelligence” that the A.I. apps need to perform at their optimal speed. After all, intelligence not boosted by massive infusions of computer power is just the same intelligence that mankind has possessed since time began; capable of inventing fire and the wheel, given time, but not capable of producing huge numbers of data in milliseconds. The potential for A.I. in science and medicine is limitless, but data centers with huge numbers of computer servers are required to make it work.
So what do opponents say in opposition to these centers, which are necessary for the infrastructure required by their multiple supercomputers? Their main argument against the centers is that they require huge amounts of electricity, and this fact increases the cost of that electricity to all living near those centers.
People who have put rational thought and logic in play while investigating this subject have usually come to a different conclusion. For example, according to Carolina Milanese, writing for “The Heart of Tech” on December 17, 2025, it is more likely that the opposite is true. She states, in part, that
a new first-of-its-kind independent study commissioned by Amazon, conducted by Energy + Environmental Economics (E3), and Amazon’s own analysis bring much-needed data into the conversation. The report and blog post show that, when structured and priced correctly, data centers do not raise residential electricity bills and can even contribute to stronger and more resilient power grids. They challenge widely held assumptions about data center costs and offer a roadmap for how communities and utilities can work together for mutual benefit.
Another oft-voiced opposition is the cost of the large amount of water necessary for cooling the sites. But as I understand it, water used for cooling becomes, temporarily, hot water. It is not destroyed. With a bit of time, it becomes cool water once again. Rinse, spit, repeat. Building the centers near bodies of water will not dry up those lakes or streams.
So it seems to me that those economic fears are baseless, provided that care is taken in structuring and pricing. Such care is certainly attainable.
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A plus for the construction of the centers is job creation. Employment opportunities, though certainly not huge quantities of jobs, would be created. Job opportunities, both large while the centers are being built and obviously smaller to run the places, are never a bad thing for any community. Adding jobs is always a plus.
I believe there are two factors steering this debate that are not mentioned out loud by those in opposition to the centers. First, the battle for superiority in A.I. is a battle between the United States and China, with President Donald Trump leading the way in the quest for the U.S. to win the competition for superiority in the A.I. world. Second, these data centers will undoubtedly require huge amounts of electricity. The political left in this country, including the media, has endlessly clamored for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, energy sources demonstrably incapable of providing the required amounts of power to the data centers.
The crux of the arguments against the centers is therefore that Donald Trump is for them, so the left is against them, and we would need to keep our petrochemical-fueled electricity sources intact, and maybe even augment them with nuclear power to provide enough electricity to make the centers work. What more could the left ask for as a basis of opposition? Trump is for them, and we would need coal-powered or nuclear-powered fuel production to make them work?
Those on the left of the political spectrum would not dare even whisper that they would rather see China prevail in the A.I. world than go against their TDS and green-agenda nonsensical beliefs. But that’s what it’s all about. For the left, rational or patriotic beliefs need not apply.
Bill Hansmann is a dentist and dental educator with over fifty years in the profession. He continues to teach and write political blogs and semi-mediocre novels while living with his wife and cats in Georgia.
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