It Isn’t Just Data Centers—AI’s Plumbing Needs an Upgrade

The coming wave of artificial-intelligence usage won’t just strain data centers and power grids—it will also stress the country’s network capabilities. That’s because more people will use AI chatbots and agents, which will talk in turn to still more AI agents—and all that requires more data, computing, and back-end technology systems like networking. Networking is considered the “plumbing” that moves data and applications inside and between data centers, as well as between data centers and internet-connected devices. Chip giant Nvidia, networking equipment maker Cisco, data center providers, and internet carriers and exchanges like Lumen Technologies and DE-CIX are eyeing opportunities in a network revamp, which could include gear upgrades, new software tools, and working with network providers to increase capacity and capability.