Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the fiery Democratic New York congresswoman and possible 2028 presidential contender, has been sounding the alarm about data centers, amidst a growing national outcry from communities apprehensive about what this technology means for their future.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the likely Democratic nominee for governor, supports data center development provided there are strict rules around it. But that position could change depending on where the Michigan Democratic Party’s base stands on data centers by the time the fall election arrives.
In fact, at the recently concluded Mackinac Policy Conference, data centers were a sticking issue during a debate among Democratic primary Senate candidates vying for the party’s nomination to challenge the Republican nominee in November.
There is panic in underserved communities, rooted in both lived experiences and a well-oiled campaign against data centers.
That means corporations like DTE Energy, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI and other major companies rolling out data centers in communities across the state should spell out a compelling economic and moral vision for these projects.
The companies must make it clear that profits generated as a result of data centers will make their way to the very communities that have historically been excluded from economic prosperity.
Not every poor community is anti-business. Some have been neglected for far too long. Over the years, they have seen their leaders give away land and political support for massive projects that never surfaced.
Beyond the generic explanation of data centers serving as a harbinger for things to come, including how they represent the new digital economy, lies the obligation for DTE and other corporate powerbrokers to specifically lay out how such technological infrastructure can have a lasting transformational impact in communities that hear more about the language of inclusion, and less about opportunity and access.
In the race to build data centers in the state, corporations face a moral question larger than waxing on the benefits of the rapidly growing technological society: Are data centers instruments of public good or squarely a profit-making machine?
That question must be answered by the executives of these companies. They can’t just describe data centers as engines of technological growth. They should explain how they are engines of community transformation.
I welcome the digital economy because it represents the future. But I also want to know who will benefit from it.
The opposition that data centers are facing right now, which has the potential to dictate the political trajectory in the governor’s race, is an opportunity for companies to look at themselves in the mirror and demand a model of development, where technological advancement is directly connected to economic justice to address issues such as contracting opportunities for entrepreneurs of color, workforce development and educational investment.
People want evidence of economic prosperity in their lives because of current affordability issues and the growing fear of economic displacement. They are not anti-capitalist. They just want capitalism to reciprocate.
There is an urgent need for a community conversation on data centers.
Perception matters. Trust matters.
X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews
bankole@bankolethompson.com
Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: The many unanswered questions surrounding data centers in Michigan | Thompson
Reporting by Bankole Thompson / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
