When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was acquiring public land for data centers near The Dalles - a small city about 80 miles east of Portland - she couldn't sort out what was actually true. "There's a lot of misinformation about data centers," she told The Verge. "Google has denied taking that land." The experience pointed to a basic problem: AI infrastructure is everywhere, and almost nobody knows where it actually is.
The Verge published an interactive map this week that addresses exactly that. It shows data center locations across the US, who owns them, and how they relate to surrounding communities - making visible the facilities that actually run the AI tools millions of people use daily. Every query sent to an AI assistant, every generated image, every analyzed document runs through servers in buildings like these.
The Dalles is a useful case study. Google has operated data centers there since 2006, drawn by cheap hydroelectric power and cooler Pacific Northwest temperatures. Two decades later, the city hosts major AI infrastructure alongside an ongoing local debate about water rights, land use, and what tech investment actually delivers for host communities.
Having a clear geographic picture matters now more than it did a year ago. Public opposition to new data center construction has grown substantially - polling from Gallup shows over 70% of Americans oppose new facilities in their area. A map that shows where existing data centers already sit gives residents and local officials something concrete to point to in those conversations, rather than arguing from rumor and denial.