Deirdre Taylor is a resident of Lewes and Newark.
In my lifetime, I have seen many inventions, such as TV, the internet, cellphones, nuclear power, space exploration and many others. All came with the reaction that the sky is falling and that horrible things are going to happen, like if you watch too much TV, you will go blind and that nuclear power plants will destroy the planet. We are all still here, and we are not blind from TV.
America is in a race with China to be the leader in artificial intelligence. To do that, America needs data centers, just like it needs more nuclear power plants to produce electricity. So, rather than fighting about how you do not want AI data centers in America/Delaware, put your collective brains together and figure out how it is going to work to make America/Delaware the leader in data centers and AI. This is not a Democrat/Republican issue. It is an America/Delaware issue.
Some laws have started the process. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that all data centers must provide their own power and not stress the electric grid nor increase the cost of power to Americans. This should be codified by Congress.
The other concerns are water usage, noise and the appearance of the data centers. This can also be legislated, so the data centers provide/purchase their own water, and it is recycled, and America’s water supply is not drained.
Delaware’s state and local governments, in a nonpartisan way, must come up with zoning laws that address where data centers can be built and what the data center owners must do to provide noise barriers. And the same goes for nuclear power plants.
Wake up, Delaware. You are not an island. Get on board. There may be benefits, like lower taxes, bonuses for teachers and the power for data centers that they don’t use being put back into the electric grid. Check out Virginia, with its lower taxes and teacher bonuses. Check out Nevada, with the power going back — in this case, from Nevada plants to California. This would be especially nice, since Delaware produces zero electricity in our state. This has been a 30-year problem that has been kicked down the pike by Democrats and some Republicans.
China is also instrumental in negative propaganda about AI data centers in America because it wants to win. If China can hack our computers, it can run an anti-AI data center campaign overtly or subliminally.
It is time to stop the fight and get on board. Cars replaced the horse and buggies, and we are all the better for it.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
