October 30, 2026 - 9:00 pm

Data is becoming a commodity. The data needs of all aspects of society — even excluding AI — are increasing. Everything is transferring to online. I just went to a small local restaurant, and there was a QR code to pay the bill and it was tied to the credit card in my wallet app. Forget about saving your Super Bowl ticket stub for posterity. The tickets for every event, even a show at a local church, are now on your phone. That is not even the future — it is now.

If we limit data centers, data capacity will be in short supply. With everything that is in short supply, the price for it goes up. You can start with more expensive cellphone and internet services. But just like higher oil prices increase the costs throughout the supply line, the increased costs of a lack of data centers will be pervasive throughout the economy.

This is all reminiscent of the cellphone tower fights of 30 years ago and — as with cell towers — data centers will be built somewhere.…