Amazon is trying to get ahead of growing opposition to the massive data center debate.
Amazon Web Services said in a memo Oct. 2 that it will invest more than $1 billion over five years in U.S. communities where it operates data centers. The money will go toward education, job training, and water and energy conservation.
Amazon also said it has stopped using NDAs with local governments as concern grows around how data center deals are negotiated.
AWS CEO Matt Garman said the data center race is bigger than Amazon.
“There is urgency to this data center buildout because we aren’t the only country that sees the benefits of AI for the economy and national security, and the countries that lead in AI will shape it and get the most from it,” Garman said in the more than 3,000-word announcement. “There are clearly areas in which the technology and energy industries can be doing better (along with…
