How can we make digital infrastructure more sustainable? Join UMSI during Climate Week for a series of lightning talks by University of Michigan researchers exploring the impact of data centers on communities and the environment. Each speaker will present thought-provoking insights into topics around data centers such as environmental impacts and urban planning.

Featured Speakers: Ben Green, Molly Kleinman, Xiaofan Liang

What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town? (Ben Green)
This talk explores the impacts of data centers on communities. Despite promises of economic benefits, data centers come with a myriad of costs, including increased utility rates, high resource consumption, and pollution. From Washtenaw County to across the globe, communities are now pushing back against data center projects. To mitigate data centers’ environmental impacts, policymakers should introduce requirements for new renewable energy and enforce transparency through mandatory reporting.

Speaker: Ben Green is an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and an assistant professor (by courtesy) in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University, with a secondary field in Science, Technology, and Society. Ben studies the ethics and impacts of algorithms, with a focus on algorithmic fairness, human-algorithm interactions, and AI regulation. Through his research, Ben aims to support design and governance practices that prevent algorithmic harms and advance social justice. His first book, The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future, was published in 2019 by MIT Press. He is working on a second book, Algorithmic Realism: Data Science Practices to Promote Social Justice. Ben is also a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard.

Understanding Community Opposition to Data Centers (Molly Kleinman)
As public awareness of the impacts of data centers has grown, many local groups are organizing to oppose and resist data centers in their communities. Based on the work of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program's Community Partnerships Initiative, this presentation will provide an overview of the longstanding environmental justice issues facing Southeast Michigan residents that inform and shape residents' responses to data centers.

Speaker: Molly Kleinman serves as the Managing Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program. In this role, Molly oversees the day-to-day management and provides strategic direction for STPP. Molly brings over 15 years of experience across several areas of higher education, with much of her work centering on technology policy, educational technology, and intellectual property. She also has an interest in urban and transportation policy; she is a past chair of the Ann Arbor Transportation Commission, serves as an elected trustee of the Ann Arbor District Library, and co-hosts the Ann Arbor AF podcast. Molly received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy from the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, her M.S. in Information from the University of Michigan School of Information, and her B.A. in English and Gender Studies from Bryn Mawr College.

Governing Data Center in Urban Planning (Xiaofan Liang)
A core part of urban planning is to manage our built environment, and AI has a physical footprint as well. What kinds of land use do data centers fall into? What are the planning and communication considerations of sitting a data center? Prof. Liang will share challenges and questions that urban planners face when a data center comes to town, existing planning practices, and a few on-going research projects that aim to unpack data center's complexity in urban and regional planning.

Speaker: Xiaofan Liang is an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan. Liang is also an affiliated faculty with Michigan Institute for Data & AI in Society and the UM Center for the Study of Complex Systems. Liang’s current work focuses on two themes: 1) Urban Network: how network infrastructure (e.g., social, transportation, digital, etc.) plays a dual role to offer connectivity but also exclude locals at the same time, 2) Urban AI, exploring how data, technology, and AI can support, transform, or challenge planning practices and public services and the human agency to elevate the benefits and mitigate the harms. Liang invites prospective PhD students to apply for the upcoming admission cycle! https://www.xiaofanliang.com/