Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  You’ve probably already heard promises from technology companies about the jobs they’ll create. When companies announce new data center projects, this is their biggest selling point, and supporters of these projects describe these facilities as economic opportunities that will bring employment, investment, and long-term growth. For communities in Oregon and across the country, this promise can sound appealing; however, they are misleading to say the least. Data centers do create jobs, especially during the construction of data centers, which require electricians, contractors, engineers, fiber installers, and utility workers. According to research from Brookings, countries that receive their first large data center see construction employment increase by about 11% over the course of several years. Information-centered jobs such as telecommunications, IT services, and software support can also expand in “hyperscale” facilities such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. However, the pro...

Photo by Patrick Hart Written by Patrick Hart I find it funny in a sardonic manner to think back to my childhood in this capital AI future that my father never got to see. He was a science fiction nerd, and as a result of his enthusiasm for sci-fi, I too came to love it from an early age. Science fiction has existed as an outlet for writers to flex that philosophical muscle and explore the big questions about the human condition in a way that, even as a kid, had me completely engaged. I bring this up because all of those stories in science fiction that deal in AI often deal in the romantic notion of AI gaining sentience and often becoming our worst enemy. Enter the 2020s in the real world and we’re not so much playing god by bringing new life into the world to recognize us as the ultimate threat, we’re creating a replacement for those already struggling to survive in an economy that isn’t set up to support such a drastic change. We won’t burn out fast due to the robot uprising, swathes...

  The internet has become a staple of everyone’s life; this seemingly invisible connection is essential for work, entertainment, file storage, communication, and even education. How does it function? Is the internet magic? Far from it. Most people do not understand how these digital tasks depend on enormous physical buildings called data centers that make tasks like streaming, social media, and even asking artificial intelligence questions feel instant and effortless. These facilities store and process data that powers today's technology-driven society. Data centers are the pillars that support everything people use on a daily basis. Schools rely on them for learning, hospitals use them to manage medical records, businesses depend on cloud storage and online video meetings, and artificial intelligence systems that provide answers to questions on a whim are incapable of functioning without them. As technology develops alongside AI, the need for larger and more powerful data centers ...

 When people think about social change, they usually think about protests, political movements, or major events happening around the world. While those things are important, communication is often the real foundation behind change. The way information is shared can influence how people think, feel, and respond to important issues. A message that is clear, emotional, and relatable will always connect with more people than a message that only throws facts at them. Research in communication studies shows that people respond differently depending on how information is presented. Howard Gardner’s ideas about multiple intelligences explain that not everyone learns or understands information in the same way. Some people connect more with visuals and videos, while others prefer written stories, statistics, or direct examples. This is why blogs, websites, and social media pages that use different forms of communication are usually more effective at reaching larger audiences. If content only...

Society has rapidly progressed into a new era of technology. Billions of people use the internet, search engines, and artificial intelligence every single day. Yet most people are only concerned with the digital input and output, unaware that every click, scroll, and AI prompt also carries a physical cost. The systems powering our online world do not exist in some invisible space. They exist in massive physical facilities known as data centers, consuming enormous amounts of land, water, and energy. While the benefits of these technologies are experienced globally, their impacts are often felt most heavily at the local level. Although data centers existed long before the rise of artificial intelligence, the rapid expansion of AI and large language models has significantly accelerated their growth. Data centers have become the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from cloud storage and social media platforms to search engines and AI systems. Without them, many of the techno...

Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash Drive through Northeast Portland after dark and you will pass them. Old motorhomes pulled up against the curb. Minivans with the back windows covered in cardboard. Sedans with a sleeping bag bunched against the rear window. They look abandoned. They are not. Someone lives there. Vehicle residency is the fastest-growing form of homelessness in Oregon. The state's 2025 Point-in-Time count found 4,850 people living in cars, RVs, and trucks , a 15.3 percent jump in a single year. National researchers have called it the fastest-growing homeless subpopulation in the country. And the stereotype most people carry about who those residents are turns out to be wrong. Many vehicle residents are working. Some are seniors. A surprising number have been doing this for years, holding down jobs while waiting on a housing market that will not take them back. Last September, OPB profiled Rachelle Lacy-Powell, a 59-year-old who had spent five years living ...

Every single time a message is sent, a video is watched, a Google search is done or even just submitting a simple school assignment online, we are all relying on something that a lot of people never see or have ever heard of: Data centers. These are huge facilities that are the backbone of the modern internet. They are responsible for storing and processing information that keeps a digital world going. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers are essential for networks and even increasing artificial intelligence that shape every everyday life.  Data centers are a facility that is filled with a lot of powerful computer systems. The servers store lots of data including social media content, emails etc.. Even when someone just opens an app or clicks a link these requests are all sent to a data center, they are processed and then returned. This happens billions of times every day all over the world. Without these data centers, the convenience of digital lif...