Amid Data Center Backlash, Microsoft CEO Tries to Reassure Communities

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella used a convention keynote on Tuesday to defend towards one of many largest challenges to the corporate’s large AI datacenter buildout: Neighborhood backlash.

AI knowledge facilities have change into such a political flashpoint that extra folks in a current Gallup ballot stated they’d rather live near a nuclear reactor. The info heart increase has acquired criticism over rising energy prices, environmental issues, and the potential affect of AI on jobs.

Microsoft in January released a plan to construct what the corporate known as “community-first” AI infrastructure, making guarantees together with that its knowledge facilities will not elevate electrical energy charges for residents.

“How will we be certain that the DCs don’t enhance electrical energy costs, ensuring that we’re replenishing all our water use, creating jobs within the native communities for the native residents, including to the tax base, ensuring we’re strengthening the communities by investing in native coaching and the nonprofits within the space?” Nadella stated at Microsoft’s Construct convention.

“Solely after we stay as much as these rules, do the exhausting work round it, is after we earn the permission to go forward and innovate and construct,” he added.

Throughout Tuesday’s keynote, Nadella stated the corporate’s Azure cloud enterprise spans greater than 500 knowledge facilities in 80 areas, which he described because the “most expansive hyperscaler footprint on the market.” Microsoft has added extra knowledge heart capability within the final 18 months than within the first decade of Azure, the CEO additionally famous.

Constructing these amenities, and packing them with AI chips, networking tools and different gear, is vastly costly. The largest cloud suppliers are heading in the right direction to spend a whole bunch of billions of {dollars} this 12 months on knowledge facilities. Assembly Microsoft’s current pledges might add to this value.

Throughout his discuss on Tuesday, Nadella stated Microsoft is utilizing a cooling loop for its knowledge facilities that’s stuffed as soon as, which helps the amenities function with virtually zero water consumption.

“In truth, the every day water utilization over the course of a whole 12 months is roughly equal to what a single restaurant would use,” Nadella stated.

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