00:35:40 · Maya Barkin, Jordan Nanos
[00:35:40] S2: Yeah. There's definitely a lot of fear mongering online and some, yeah, some social media posts that have gone viral that are like clickbait and that have been widely reshared. So I think data centers are slowly realizing that they really need to have a better PR strategy. [00:36:03] S1: Yeah. Makes sense. Wayne, how do how do think data centers can improve their PR strategy? What do you think?
00:36:03 · Jordan Nanos, Wayne Ma
[00:36:03] S1: Yeah. Makes sense. Wayne, how do how do think data centers can improve their PR strategy? What do you think? [00:36:08] S3: I think, you know, Amazon and Google, you know, is a good start that they're ending the NDAs. Right? I mean, that gives the perception that there's, like, something secret going on or that politicians are in in the pockets of these companies, you know, because of it. Yeah. I don't know. I think that... Yeah. I'm curious pretty powerful thing. But if you can show that it benefits the community. Right? There's, like, definitely all these examples of data centers coming in and, like, adding, like, public utilities or adding, like, a fire station, you know, that wasn't there before or, you know, playgrounds and things like... I mean, I think that there's, like... There's there's a lot of, like, economically underdeveloped, you know, towns, especially in, like, West Texas that I think by by bringing data centers, it'll... You know, it could definitely have a material impact on the economy. I think that that story needs to be told more. And another thing is, like, with water and the environment too. Right? There's just so much of misinformation about water and electricity. A lot of these hyperscalers, you know, they're like the largest buyers of renewable energy. Right? Or they put... You know, or they, you know, put out more energy or they try to put out, you know, as much energy as they, you know, can, you know, versus what they take in. So it's like net zero. And I think that a lot of people don't realize that.
00:37:21 · Maya Barkin
[00:37:21] S2: And I think some of the uncertainty surrounding AI also feeds into the the general opposition to data centers. It was... One of the representatives that I interviewed actually was saying, you know, people don't know what's gonna happen to their jobs. They don't know what kind of future they're leaving to their kids. And so having a data center being built in their backyard just doesn't make sense to them. And she did say, which I found funny, you know, like, if data center developers were hanging up Christmas lights, then we wouldn't be opposed to them.
00:38:02 · Jordan Nanos
[00:38:02] S1: Interesting PR strategy. Yeah. One thing you guys didn't bring up is jobs. I think, like, it's fascinating. I I went to visit a data center. I won't say where it was or who it was visiting, but I got to talk to a lot of people who were working in construction because it was under construction at that time. And, you know, it's significantly biased because it's all the people that chose to work there. But they were all very much in favor of this project and talking about how important it's been to them and their families and how they know people who are driving for, you know, as far as like an hour and a half, two hours away every day just for this job. And it's high paying, it's good for the community, things like that. When you hear Jeremie talk about the percentage of money that's spent on the GPUs and how expensive the building is and stuff, maybe it's not the absolute best jobs program. You know, dollars 50,000,000,000 for a few thousand jobs is probably like a bad trade, but there is some stuff for the local community when you think about all that investment that comes in and people having their jobs where that is a good thing. And then the meta story about the teachers getting a yearly bonus, you know, based on the taxes that they were paying in that site in Louisiana. I think that's a... That's one that they show off quite a bit, but it's a pretty good one. Quick take. What do you think about the financial incentives? Like, just paying people more money, giving jobs, local taxes? Can data centers, you know, builders, construction, can they just, like, pay more money for this problem to go away with sentiment towards their sites? I
00:39:39 · Wayne Ma
[00:39:39] S3: paying don't people like $10,000 each will get them to go away. Right? I don't think that's like an effective strategy or or... Yeah. Yeah. At least that's what the people we talked to on the ground say. Right? It's gonna take more than just paying them off. You know, some people don't wanna be paid off. Yeah. Another thing is a representative in... Or somebody running for the board of supervisors in in Iowa, which is crucial for approving certain projects in unincorporated counties in Iowa where data centers are being lowered because of cheap land and power. He was saying that the... A lot of the jobs that are coming in to build these data centers aren't local. You know, they're being like, you know, they're deprived from other states or even, you know, from other countries. And so so it's not really benefiting the local community's job market.
00:40:30 · Jordan Nanos, Maya Barkin
[00:40:30] S1: Yeah. They're specialists. I mean, maybe the view there is training where I think a lot of people still feel like this is a fad that's gonna go away. We're gonna build some data centers, and then a few years from now, they're gonna tear them all down, we're gonna forget about that AI thing, as opposed to being this inevitable change where there's just gonna be more and more of this over time. Maya, what's your take on direct payments? Wasn't necessarily saying we should go out and pay everybody as a policy proposal, but the tax incentives going away thing seems like the most obvious next step where there's so much demand for data centers, the supply demand balance has changed, the local governments or the states don't need to provide tax incentives to people to get them to build there. And so that's probably gonna go away quickly. And that just means more money [00:41:19] S2: Yeah. For the I think it should just be a more comprehensive process that involves more transparency, no more NDAs, educating the community, explaining also that new data centers don't consume as much water, are not as environmentally aggressive, and also contributing to the local community, I think, can help. Not in the way of bribing and giving each person $10,000 but perhaps building a school, building roads. I think this is something that has been appreciated in the cases that we've seen where it's been done. [00:42:05] S1: Cool. Awesome. Okay. What have have we missed going through here? What are you guys watching today as the election plays out?