Everything We Know About The Massive New Data Center in Minnesota

We are now living in the "AI Boom" in the U.S. and there's no denying it. To put it in perspective, there are currently at least 5,400 data centers nationwide, with over 1,000 ai data centers in construction. This dwarfs all other nations and says a lot about where our economy is heading in the near future.

Minnesota itself is home to over 60 data centers, many of which are incorporating ai into their day to day operations. However, at least one stand-alone Meta AI Data Center is currently under construction in the North Star State, with the expected completion date to be sometime next year.

But what exactly does that mean? And why are so many people hesitant to welcome these into the state anyway? Let's break it down.

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What is an AI Data Center Anyway?

An AI data center is a specialized facility designed to handle massive AI workloads. These centers support advanced computing tasks, like machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. They rely on cutting-edge hardware such as GPUs, TPUs, and high-performance processors. With immense data storage and processing capabilities, AI data centers optimize AI models and algorithms. They are also built to ensure energy efficiency, scalability, and reliability. This makes them a vital backbone for industries relying on AI.

-Lenovo Website

These AI Data Centers have two main jobs. The first is to train the AI, which is is used for several industries and the number is growing every day. The second job is to actually run the AI.

The Meta AI Data Center being built in the Twin Cities Suburb of Rosemount will be part of a massive, global infrastructure push by the company. It will have many jobs, but some of them will include:

• Building the Metaverse (Building Future Virtual Realities/Worlds)
• Running the Meta AI Chatbot
• Running Personalized Feeds For Users (Dictating What You See in Your Algorithm on Facebook, Instagram etc...)
• Content Moderation (Scouring its platforms for Spam, Hate Speech Violence etc...)
• Video Processing

As you can see, there's a lot more to it than you may initially realize. Meta a good deal of thought into its choice of Rosemount and one of the main factors cited was the cool climate. This will inherently help Meta save money on cooling costs, which can be staggeringly expensive for these AI Data Centers, as some use as much power as a small city.

So, what are some of the main criticisms?

• Grid Pressure and Higher Electric Bills for Area Residents
• Massive Amounts of Water Are Used For Cooling (Water Evaporates Permanently)
• Depleting Local Resources
• Noise Pollution
• Land Use
• Lack of Transparency

What's the primary upside?

• Massive Capital Investment & Tax Revenue
• Infrastructure Catalyst
• Job Creation (Around 100 permanent workers)
• Community Benefits
• Workforce Development

The outcome of this colossal experiment will serve as a crucial test case for Minnesota as a whole and will likely determine if more AI Data Centers will be built within the state's borders.