Millions of people are asking tools like ChatGPT questions every day. But your questions don’t just fly up into the ether. They go to a real place. 

AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington.  

Data centers provide the essential infrastructure needed to run AI apps and everything else we do on the internet. And tech companies say they bring economic prosperity to communities that desperately need it. But those benefits come at a cost.

On this week's episode, we travel to a place where the data center boom is well underway to find out how the AI boom is reshaping small towns.

Millions of people are asking tools like ChatGPT questions every day. But your questions don&rsquo;t just fly up into the ether. They go to a real place.&nbsp;
AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington. &nbsp;
Data centers provide the essential infrastructure needed to run AI apps and everything else we do on the internet. And tech companies say they bring economic prosperity to communities that desperately need it. But those benefits come at a cost.
On this week's episode, we travel to a place where the data center boom is well underway to find out how the AI boom is reshaping small towns.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It’s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It&rsquo;s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In&nbsp;Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming

AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington.  Today, we travel to a place where the data center boom is well underway to find out how the AI boom is reshaping small towns.

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