Global Data Center Inequality and Growing Environmental Impact

Data centers form the backbone of the digital ecosystem, and their geographical distribution provides a significant strategic advantage to the United States. The United States hosts 45.6% of the world's 11,800 data centers, far exceeding countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom (4.4% each) or China (3.8%). This concentration enables the US to exert substantial influence over cyberspace governance, directly affecting global digital policies.

The Stargate alliance announced in January 2025 between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank may further strengthen this dominance, as the project, backed by the Trump administration, plans to invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next four years, expanding its network of data centers and reinforcing US technological leadership. The operation and evolution of data centers is moving towards cloud-based technologies, where virtual data centers can be provisioned or scaled down with just a few clicks, providing significant advantages for companies moving to the cloud. In modern data centers, software-defined networking (SDN) manages traffic flows, whilst Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings hosted on private and public clouds spin up systems on-demand. Global data traffic is expected to reach 181 zettabytes by 2025, representing an almost 90-fold increase compared to data consumption in 2010, further underscoring the need for scalable infrastructure to meet growing data processing and storage demands.

However, the rapid expansion of data centers also presents significant environmental challenges, as these facilities require increasing amounts of energy and water for their operation and cooling, and are responsible for generating a growing residual footprint. China's expansion of its underwater data center, which added a new module containing 400 high-performance servers in February 2025, demonstrates the search for alternative cooling solutions, as this facility uses seawater as a natural coolant. Countries without significant data center infrastructure depend on the United States for data access and storage, resulting in geopolitical submission already in place, whilst various data center security solutions, such as Check Point Maestro hyperscale security, become vital in defending against cyber threats.

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#depredadoresdigitales #germany #unitedkingdom #china #stargate #ai… | Pablo José Gámez Cersosimo

Those who control them, control the Infosphere. Data centers are the core of the digital ecosystem. The geographical concentration of these centers, especially in the United States, grants this country a position of strategic dominance in the global digital ecosystem. (#DepredadoresDigitales). Of the 11,800 data centers distributed worldwide, approximately 45.6% are located in the United States, a figure that far exceeds that of other countries such as #Germany and the #UnitedKingdom, which each host 4.4%, or #China with 3.8%. (Statista, Cloudscene). This concentration grants the United States a toxic influence over cyberspace governance. Controlling such a significant portion of the critical infrastructure of the internet allows the U.S. to exercise oversight and control that directly influences digital policies on a global scale. The recent alliance announced in January 2025 between OpenAI, Oracle, and ソフトバンク, named #Stargate, plans to invest up to $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next four years. This project, backed by the Trump administration, aims to further consolidate the United States’ position in the #AI field by expanding its network of data centers and reinforcing its technological leadership. It is estimated that by 2025, global data traffic will reach 181 #zettabytes, representing an almost 90-fold increase compared to data consumption in 2010. This exponential growth underscores the need for scalable infrastructure to meet the growing demand for data processing and storage. This demand will reach even higher levels with the deployment of humanoid robots. However, the massive expansion of #datacenters entails significant environmental challenges (Linkedin, https://shorturl.at/Tuzah). These facilities require increasing amounts of energy and water for their operation and cooling. They are also responsible for generating a growing residual footprint. (UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) #DER2024 Countries without significant data center infrastructure depend on the United States for data access and storage. It is a geopolitical submission already in place. #Infosphere #Cyberspace #humanoidrobots #Data #DigitalEconomy #Ewaste #Digitalfootprint

LinkedInPablo José Gámez Cersosimo

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