Within the data centers driving the AI surge

      AI can appear magical, resembling a voice from a phone or an answer that appears from nowhere. However, stepping into the facilities that produce it reveals a different reality. What remains is noise, heat, metal, and a massive demand for power.

      Axios’s Amy Harder visited a test server hall managed by Digital Realty in Ashburn, Virginia, located in the heart of America’s "data center alley."

      The first aspect that caught her attention was the sound, which she described as “demented white noise.” This noise emanates from fans combating the heat generated by rows of AI chips. A transparent floor displayed the cooling pipes running beneath her.

      At the bottom of one rack, roughly the size of a closet, she found a gold-colored Nvidia system. The color choice is intentional, albeit artificial. An Nvidia representative mentioned, “Gold is associated with high value and performance.”

      And indeed, the value is substantial. A Digital Realty engineer remarked that the rack was worth around $1 million.

      Designed to be unexciting, a data center is intentionally dull. Harder noted, “If excitement is happening inside a data center, something has probably gone wrong.” From the outside, the buildings resemble windowless warehouses.

      The real intrigue lies in the power and cooling systems: substations, water towers, and long rows of industrial air conditioning units.

      The scale becomes evident in the finer details. Harder counted nearly 40 diesel generators attached to one building, intended solely for backup, according to the company. The power grid serving Virginia predominantly relies on gas and nuclear energy. The nearby Digital Dulles campus has plans to accommodate 13 data centers, a project valued at over $10 billion.

      Here, cooling will primarily depend on energy rather than water, hence the absence of large towers.

      Accessing these facilities is challenging. Some operators outright refused a tour. Others insisted on non-disclosure agreements, and server halls are typically off-limits. Harder contended that this secrecy contributes to the growing backlash from communities concerned about rising power costs and water usage.

      She left with the belief that companies could reveal more to the public without compromising any confidential information.

      The expansion of data centers is only increasing. Digital Realty is exploring innovation labs in Singapore, São Paulo, and Johannesburg. The physical presence of AI is expanding rapidly, yet mostly hidden from view. The less visibility it has, the greater the distrust appears to grow, potentially highlighting a significant flaw in the industry's design.