If artificial intelligence were to have a geographic epicenter, it might well be Ashburn, Virginia, located just beyond Washington, DC. Observant passengers landing at Dulles International Airport may spot clusters of white-roofed structures adjacent to quiet suburban neighborhoods. These are data centers, forming the largest such concentration globally. In the past year, this hub consumed over 25\% of the electricity generated by Virginia’s primary power provider. The surge in AI infrastructure demands has placed growing pressure on regional energy grids and diverted investment from other sectors. As tech firms pour billions into computing capacity, concerns rise about how this rapid expansion affects broader economic priorities, including workforce distribution and infrastructure development outside the tech corridor.
— news from The Economist
— News Original —
How America’s AI boom is squeezing the rest of the economy
If artificial-intelligence models have a hometown, it is probably Ashburn, northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. Attentive window-seaters flying into Dulles airport might notice a clutch of white-roofed boxes jutting out next to rows of suburban culs-de-sac. Those data centres are part of a cluster—the world’s biggest—which last year guzzled more than a quarter of the power produced by Virginia’s main electrical utility.