Artificial intelligence is no longer framed as a research project or an economic opportunity. It is being cast as a struggle for survival and global power, a modern Manhattan Project.
Yet just last week, on Aug. 26, the Congressional Research Service released a Frequently Asked Questions memo designed to help lawmakers get on the same page about the basics: what a data center is, how many exist, and how much electricity data centers consume.
If even government institutions are still in the process of aligning their understanding, it’s clear that citizens will need to move quickly to understand what is happening and to understand what it means for their daily lives.
The memo laid out in plain language what many assumed lawmakers already understood.
A data center is a specialized building that houses thousands of servers. There are about seven thousand worldwide, with the largest concentration in the United States, especially in Northern Virginia and Texas. In 2022, American data centers consumed about 176 terawatt-hours of electricity—roughly 4 percent of all U.S. demand, more than many entire states. Projections suggest an additional 35 to 108 gigawatts of demand by 2030. The midpoint estimate, 50 gigawatts, is enough to power every home in California.
The very fact that such a memo was necessary highlights a structural reality: the pace of technological build out is outstripping the pace of legislative comprehension. If institutions themselves are still catching up, it underscores how important it is for citizens to get informed now, before the costs mount even higher.
While Congress is being briefed on “Data Centers 101,” the executive branch has been preparing all year for the AI race that is already underway:
On January 20, 2025, the White House declared a National Energy Emergency.
On April 8, an order was issued to strengthen grid reliability, with the Department of Energy (DOE) tasked to model how AI demand would reshape the grid.
Four months later, on July 2, DOE’s report warned bluntly: “Retirements plus load growth increase risk of outages by 100x. Status quo is unsustainable.”
Just weeks later, on July 23, a new order accelerated federal permitting of data centers, opening federal lands to construction. And on July 25, the White House released America’s AI Action Plan, framing AI as the next great geopolitical race.
So we are going to allow AI data centers “the new kid on the block” that tracks every call we make, every internet search, every text message, etc, to use electricity that we pay for to to keep a record of every place we go, when we are there, and who we talked to? People, this surveillance is real. Leave your cell phones at home if you don’t want to be monitored. If you say “I have nothing to hide”, you are a dumbass idiot that has no clue about what is happening with this new found “Big Brother” technology. Trust me, I am old and have lived long enough to see the future. Big brother will know all about you, and let you keep just enough of your hard earned money to survive, the rest will be taxed out of your pocket and you won’t even realize it. I know this sounds far fetched, but trust me, this is real and will never be reversed. I must stop explaining things now, because these drunk ass comments might ruffle feathers.
Pay no attention to the massive amounts of water necessary to cool all that electricity off…
these companies should be made to build and provide their own power sources not make a fortune while sucking off the rate payers who they are actively tracking monitoring and cataloging! where’s your local or state politicos at when you need them? in the monopolies pocket! sucks to be you! idiots! keep voting for the DemonicRats!