Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited Rochester on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to speak about Destination Medical Center and the years of public and private investments into the local economic development initiative.
Data centers came up…
When asked about AI innovation and guardrails, Walz said he sees the frustration around generative AI use and data center development as a communication issue.
“We’re going to have the resources, energy-wise, to be able to make sure prices don’t go up on folks, but the industry has done little to talk about that,” Walz said. “The frustration, I think, with the data centers is just a manifestation of the anxiety around AI in general.”
Walz said technology companies should communicate more with communities on what happens inside data centers and how that computing power is used.
“Make the connection to them,” Walz said, “that the data center is going to process the images … of that tumor in your child that is going to be taken out and cured.”