Public Municipal Data Centers

We are facing the multi-trillion-dollar march of private artificial intelligence (AI) data centers into our economy, politics, ecosystem, and cultural life. Amid calls for blanket moratoria and investments in data centers in space, how can the public assert a controlling interest in the development and outcomes of this technology? This essay proposes developing municipally owned, small-scale data center capacity to support municipal services and public-interest AI. To encourage outcomes in the public interest, infrastructure investments must shift away from primarily private, hyperscale facilities and toward publicly accountable, resource-aware, incremental, and flexible deployments. Starting small will open new horizons for municipalities’ capabilities to achieve their public service missions. This is an opportunity for municipalities to provide a next-generation category of services, take risks, and build competency and control over the emerging productive assets of the 21st century.

[Preston Rhea is a Principal in the Technology & Society Studio at HR&A Advisors, where he advises cities, counties, and states on broadband and public technology infrastructure.]