The future of data centers

AI is being deployed across numerous sectors with promises to transform data processing, communications, and service delivery. Undergirding this growing adoption of AI algorithms and agents are state-of-the-art data centers that host thousands of file servers and networking equipment capable of automating key functions. As demand grows, these centers will be crucial for the digital economy, but there remain barriers in terms of their energy needs, workforce shortages, job impact, and overall cost.

On November 13, the Center for Technology Innovation (CTI) at Brookings hosted a webinar to discuss how we can address the mounting challenges posed by the construction and operation of data centers. Brookings Senior Fellows and CTI scholars Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West were joined by Kate Stoll, project director of the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Michael Blackhurst, executive director of the Electric Power Research Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Viewers submitted questions to speakers by emailing [email protected] or on Twitter @BrookingsGov by using #FutureOfDataCenters.