By Brian Tabick
A college professor explains what people can expect Cedar Rapids’ two data centers to bring to the community.
Last year, the city announced Google would be investing over $500 million in a data center in the city’s Southwest side industrial park, followed by QTS’s announced $750 million data center nearby.
“You can think of data centers as kind of where the internet lives,” said Dr. Andrew Chien, a Professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Chien explained that data centers are where information on the internet is stored, and the services we use are calculated. He said an increase in demand for AI is the reason many communities are starting to see data centers like the ones planned for Cedar Rapids.