# Data Centers: What They Are, Why We Need More of Them, and Why Almost Everything You've Heard Is Wrong

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/data-centers-what-they-are-why-we-need-more-of-them-and-why-almost-everything-you-ve-heard-is-wrong
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/data-centers-what-they-are-why-we-need-more-of-them-and-why-almost-everything-you-ve-heard-is-wrong.md
Podcast: [Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan](https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576)
Published: 2026-06-03T16:42:00+00:00
Episode link: https://futureofworkpodcast.libsyn.com/data-centers-what-they-are-why-we-need-more-of-them-and-why-almost-everything-youve-heard-is-wrong
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/futureofworkpodcast/he-most-lied-about-buildings-in-america-data-center-myths-debunked.mp3?dest-id=209072
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Duration seconds: 3019

## Resource

June 3, 2026: Most people use a data center dozens of times a day and have no idea what it is. Today I'm changing that. I break down exactly what data centers are, what "compute" actually means, why every new AI model needs exponentially more of it, and how short we currently are as a country — using real numbers from Goldman Sachs, FERC, RAND, and others. Then I take on the five biggest myths driving the backlash: that new data centers waste water, that they're an energy disaster, that they kill jobs, that taxpayers are funding Big Tech, and that they destroy communities. I debunk every single one with sourced data — because the misinformation around data centers is doing real damage to America's AI future. These buildings currently account for 80% of US economic growth according to S&P Global, they're funding the nuclear renaissance, and they're the front line in a race with China that we cannot afford to lose. This is the episode I'd send to anyone who thinks data centers are the enemy.

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## Transcript

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