ThinkTankWeekly

Turning the data center boom into long-term, local prosperity

Brookings | 2026-02-22 | economy

Topics: AI, Climate, Cybersecurity, Europe, Nuclear, Trade, United States

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English Summary

The article argues that the traditional model of data center development—characterized by short-term construction jobs and high resource consumption—must be replaced by a 'mutualistic' approach that leverages AI infrastructure for long-term regional prosperity. It highlights that the current AI scale-up has granted local governments new leverage to negotiate for high-value benefits, such as university R&D partnerships, compute access, and shared equity endowments, rather than settling for modest tax revenues. Policymakers are encouraged to move beyond 'race-to-the-bottom' incentive competitions and instead integrate data centers into broader tech ecosystems that drive energy innovation and local talent development. Ultimately, the report suggests that transforming isolated data centers into community-supported AI hubs is necessary to ensure the industry's growth delivers on its promise of widespread economic reindustrialization.

中文摘要

本文主張,以短期建築就業與高資源消耗為特徵的傳統數據中心發展模式,必須轉向利用人工智慧基礎設施來促進長期區域繁榮的「互利共生」模式。報告強調,目前的 AI 規模擴張為地方政府提供了新的談判籌碼,使其能爭取大學研發夥伴關係、算力存取權及共享股權捐贈等高價值收益,而非僅止於微薄的稅收。政策制定者應超越「逐底競爭」的激勵方案,將數據中心整合至更廣泛的科技生態系統中,以驅動能源創新與本地人才發展。最終,報告建議將孤立的數據中心轉型為社區支持的 AI 樞紐,是確保該產業成長能兌現廣泛經濟再工業化承諾的必要之舉。

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