Inside Google's AI data centers

Our Take

Credit to Elizabeth Schulze and the ABC News team for getting cameras inside a Google facility — that kind of access is rare, and it's worth watching. But let's be clear-eyed about what an 'exclusive tour' actually is: a company deciding exactly what a national morning show gets to see. Sleek server rooms and talk of AI's promise make for great TV. What doesn't make the cut is the megawatt substation built to feed that building, the millions of gallons pulled from local water systems to keep it cool, or the property tax abatement some county commission approved after a couple of public meetings nobody outside the industry attended.

That's the pattern we track at GridWatch: the buildout moves fast, the marketing tours are polished, and the actual terms — power purchase agreements, water withdrawal permits, PILOT deals — get worked out long before a camera crew shows up. Communities near these sites are the ones who find out later what they signed up for, whether that's rising utility rates, strained aquifers, or industrial land where farmland used to be.

If a project like this is going up near you, don't wait for the good-morning-television version. Check our facility map to see what's already been built or approved close to home, and visit our take-action page for tools to find out what your local officials actually agreed to.