Written in Granite: AI data centers are all the rage

I’ll admit that I’m the Computer Village Idiot when it comes to using technology like personal computers and smartphones; I still struggle. And I’m in over my head trying to figure out this whole AI (artificial intelligence) thing that some Anthropic research experts believe could ultimately destroy mankind.

Are you thinking about artificial intelligence? AI is in the news everywhere these days, and the subject of AI data centers popping up in one’s town or city is enough to freak out most people. There are many unknowns about artificial intelligence, and we need to learn as much as we can about this new technology.

Here in the Granite State, there are multiple traditional data centers, but they aren’t the same as AI data centers. There’s often confusion about the two, and unfortunately, AI has become the catch-all term for modern tech infrastructure.

For instance, data center space is available for lease in Nashua Technology Park off Exit 1 near the NH/MA border. The campus offers dedicated data center space equipped with heavy-duty corporate infrastructure, but it lacks the capacity and available land for a huge hyperscale or large-scale AI build.

And the same could be said for my city’s Millyard Technology Park in the historic district. The tech park leases general office space to companies of all sizes under one roof, featuring “software firms, various service businesses, more than one corporate headquarters, and a few computer hardware companies,” its website says.

I know of no AI data center proposals in Nashua, and that’s good news to me. However, a warehouse-sized data center using 40 acres of land on Old Turnpike Road was proposed for the town of Nottingham last May. Residents were up in arms, blasting Granite State developer Tom Moulton. He later withdrew his application because of heavy community opposition. Nottingham residents recently voted overwhelmingly on a 12-month moratorium on any data center development within town limits.

That enormous proposal wouldn’t sit well with most people. Massive data centers consume tons of energy, thereby placing a significant strain on water infrastructure and the power grid. These facilities are also seen as a threat to residents’ income, quality of life and the environment.

In Bow, residents have come out fighting hard against Granite Shore Power, which owns the shuttered Merrimack Station. The owners had filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to discuss connecting a 350-megawatt project to the regional power grid for a potential hyperscale AI data center. No data center development proposal has been submitted to the town yet, but that was enough to draw outraged locals to the Bow municipal building.

Some of us also wonder about the harm AI could do to the journalism industry. Generative AI is considered a time-and-money-saving newsroom tool that can handle diverse data types like documents, videos and social media at speeds unmatched by traditional processing. But it could also eliminate jobs.

However, AI has limitations and cannot replace human reporting, as Mike Reilley explained in an essay for the Red Line Project. Reilley is a University of Illinois Chicago digital journalism professor and an expert in artificial intelligence and data visualization within newsrooms.

“Specifically, AI cannot: physically enter a courtroom or interview a defendant behind bars; cultivate trust with a whistleblower; brave the front lines of a war zone; provide the critical thinking, original reporting and smart editorial judgment that humans do.”

Innovation should always be welcomed with responsibility. On that note, here’s to a free press!