Rural AI Push Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Rural America is seeing a huge growth in data
centers.
Jeff Johnston, Lead Economist for Infrastructure with CoBank, says as it pertains to AI, this is a fascinating time for our country, and I think a pretty exciting time for rural America as well …
JOHNSTON … “I would say rural America, from an AI infrastructure perspective, rural America is taking center stage right now. When you look at how these new AI data centers are built and architected, and you look at the enormous amount of energy requirements that they demand, you know, rural America is very well positioned from several factors to be able to support the growth in AI and support the growth in this infrastructure.”
Johnston says the stakes are high as several major companies are spending a lot of money setting up these centers …
JOHNSTON … “When we talk about AI, there are geopolitical implications for us and China. There are economic implications as well, in terms of productivity and growth, so the stakes are enormously high. The amount of money that's being spent by major data center companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google is nothing short of mind-blowing. And again, rural America is taking center stage in this AI revolution.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the exciting steps being made to close the broadband gap in rural America.
