Data Centers: What Lies Beyond Yes or No? | Ian Sun | TEDxAtlanta Youth

Data center construction is often framed as a yes-or-no decision: build it or block it. In this TEDxAtlanta Youth talk, MIT undergraduate Ian Sun looks at the questions that debate can leave unanswered, including where, how and with whose input these facilities should be built. Sun draws on a sustainability hackathon that led him to study the physical footprint of AI. He argues that better data can help communities see more of the tradeoffs and take a part in shaping the infrastructure behind AI.

• Why the yes-or-no debate over data centers can leave important questions open
• The physical footprint of AI infrastructure
• How better data can give communities a voice in where and how facilities are built

Build the data center—or block it? That yes-or-no debate can leave important questions unanswered. Undergraduate student Ian Sun explores what becomes possible when communities can see more of the tradeoffs and ask where, how and with whose input these facilities should be built. Ian Sun believes innovation must work for the people who have to live with its consequences. An electrical engineering and computer science student at MIT, he builds technology to tackle real-world problems. A sustainability hackathon led him to explore AI’s physical footprint and how better data can give communities a voice in shaping the infrastructure behind it. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx