1890: Hollerith's tabulator processed the U.S. Census in 2 years vs. 7 years manually
1970s-1980s: Personal computers challenged centralized mainframe dominance
1998: Google's first data center bill from Exodus Communications—just $8,830/month
1990s-2000s: Submarine cables carrying 99% of international internet traffic
2010s: Modern hyperscale data centers powering cloud computing
2024: Meta's 5-gigawatt Hyperion campus—the scale required for AI training
Data Centers
The Hidden Backbone of Our Modern World
Every time you stream a show, send an email, or ask ChatGPT a question, you're tapping into vast warehouses filled with servers—data centers that now consume as much electricity as entire countries. As AI and cloud computing explode, these invisible facilities have become one of the fastest-growing energy sectors on earth. This episode traces how we built the digital infrastructure that powers modern life, why it demands so much energy, and what data centers mean for our climate future.
Key Moments
