AI race depends on data centers, power grid and digital infrastructure

Most Americans don’t think much about digital infrastructure because, for the most part, it is always there. We carry supercomputers in our pockets and expect instant access to our bank accounts, medical records, airline schedules, businesses, families and virtually any piece of information we need. We have become so accustomed to that availability that it is easy to forget there is an enormous physical infrastructure behind it.

Both of us learned the value of information long before we entered the critical infrastructure industry. Kirk learned it beneath the ocean aboard U.S. Navy nuclear submarines, while Mike experienced it years later on the battlefields of the Global War on Terror with special operations forces. The missions and eras were different, but the lesson was the same: Having the right information at the right time can save lives. Knowing where your people are, understanding what is happening around you and acting on reliable information faster than an adversary can determine the outcome of a mission.

That lesson applies to the challenge America faces today. The race for artificial intelligence isn’t simply about who develops the best software or algorithm. It is also about who can build the power generation, transmission, data centers and workforce required to run it. If we fail at that part of the equation, it won’t matter how innovative we are.

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America has to build again

For generations, one of America’s greatest strengths was our ability to turn innovation into physical capability. We built interstate highways, ports, power plants, factories and telecommunications networks that fueled economic growth while strengthening our national security.

THE MACHINES THAT KEEP AMERICA ALIVE ARE FAILING. WE FORGOT HOW TO REPLACE THEM

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, center, participates in a panel discussion at a Google data center. Abbott directed state regulators to review new data center grid requests as electricity demand continues to rise. (Jonathan Johnson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

We are at another such moment, except we aren’t moving fast enough. Permitting delays, grid bottlenecks and supply-chain constraints are slowing new generation and transmission at precisely the moment AI and advanced computing are creating enormous new demand for electricity.

China understands this. It is aggressively expanding power generation, transmission, manufacturing and computing capacity because technological leadership ultimately requires physical capacity. While Washington debates how AI should be governed, our competitors are making sure they have the infrastructure to deploy it.

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That is why the way we talk about data centers also needs to change. They aren’t simply large commercial buildings filled with servers. They are part of what we call the Fifth Utility, the interconnected compute, power, fiber and digital infrastructure that supports banking, healthcare, transportation, commerce, emergency communications, national intelligence and defense.

None of that means communities should accept development without asking tough questions. Residents deserve to know how projects will affect power, water, land, electricity rates and local infrastructure. Developers have an obligation to show up early, answer those questions honestly and invest responsibly in the communities where they build.

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We can protect communities and ratepayers while still building the infrastructure America needs. In fact, we must do both.

The same is true of our workforce. Data centers and power plants don’t build themselves. America needs electricians, line workers, welders, high-voltage technicians, construction professionals and mission-critical operators. Meanwhile, roughly 200,000 men and women leave military service every year with many of the qualities this industry desperately needs: technical discipline, leadership, adaptability and the ability to perform when failure isn’t an option.

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Creating stronger pathways from military service into critical infrastructure careers should be part of our national strategy, not simply a workforce initiative.

We spent our military careers understanding that information superiority matters only if you have the people, systems and infrastructure to deliver it when it counts. Technology may have changed, but the principle hasn’t.

We can protect communities and ratepayers while still building the infrastructure America needs. In fact, we must do both.

America still has the capital, energy resources, technology and talent to lead the digital age. What we cannot assume is that those advantages will last while we take years to build what our competitors are building now.

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The digital world may feel invisible, but the infrastructure behind it isn’t. It requires power, transmission, fiber, steel, concrete and skilled people.

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If America intends to lead the digital age, we need to start building like it.

Kirk Offel is a Navy nuclear attack submarine veteran and the CEO of Overwatch Mission Critical, a Texas-based Service-Disabled Veteran Owned data center company that trains and hires future leaders for high-skill jobs in the data center industry. He is a Top 10 ranked global voice on data centers.

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