A look at the inner workings of data centers, as Colorado leaders grapple with whether to build more of them

These days, artificial intelligence does a lot for us. AI gives us personalized shopping recommendations. It writes emails for us. It helps us run businesses. And all those tasks require lightning-fast computing and huge amounts of data. Which is why tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are building massive data centers around the country. Some state lawmakers have proposed incentives for companies that want to build data centers in Colorado. They say the facilities will create jobs and tax revenue – and that Colorado is competing with other states for that economic boost.  But skeptics point out that data centers use enormous amounts of electricity and water, which strains power grids and water supplies.    To sort through the economic benefits and the environmental costs, a while back we reached out to Vijay Gadepally. He's a senior scientist at MIT who researches high performance computing and artificial intelligence. He’s also the chief technology officer of an AI cloud computing company that hopes to build a data center in Colorado.  He talked last year with Erin O'Toole about how data centers work, and why some people think Colorado’s a good place to build more of them.* * * * *Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected] Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!  Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole Executive Producer: Brad Turner  Theme music by Robbie Reverb Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.