Let me begin by saying that I don’t think hyperscale data centers are the key to our economic future. Nor am I especially concerned with the economic fortune invested in them. Like sub-prime mortgages two decades ago, AI investment has now become the prime method of wealth building among an influential class of monied interests.
But computing power is something we will need, even as we seek to rein in the excesses of AI and hyperscale data centers. That inspired today’s column (gift link) about the conservation dangers of wanton data center expansion.
The political landscape on data centers changed completely in two years. Once seen as a valid, somewhat less controversial economic development proposal, data centers now highlight negative attack ads hitting both sides. The tech industry has only itself to blame. Heavy handed tactics, secrecy and too-cute paternalism leave a smoking hole where the futuristic hopes of data center politics once stood.
I don’t know if there is middle ground on this issue. Early feedback indicates not. But there is nuance to be plumbed in the way we manage our highly technological society. That’s where I try to go in today’s piece.
Read “Imagining data centers for people who hate data centers” in the Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
