Potential impact AI(artificial intellegence) has to South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.(KELO)- Experts say the potential of Artificial Intelligence – both good and bad – is practically limitless.

The problem is it will take massive gains in power generation to develop that potential.

AI models are developed by a training process that requires large amounts of data that comes from large data centers…buildings full of computers that consume electrical power and generate heat.

Senator Mike Rounds is viewed as a leader on AI and  Cyber Security in Washington.

A one-billion dollar economic development project would revolutionize a city like Sioux Falls.

Imagine what it would do for a small town of 11-hundred people.

For Ellendale, North Dakota, that dream is becoming reality as Applied Digital Corporation anticipates investing over five-billion dollars in a data center there.

Nick Phillips, the Executive Vice President for External Affairs for Applied Digital, says the community is already growing.

And that’s before the center is completed, along with the arrival of hundreds of permanent employees.

New uses for Artificial Intelligence are being found every day.

But, for that progress to continue it’s going to take more electrical power…a lot more.

AI systems consume huge amounts of data from buildings filled with computers…which require electricity for data generation…and more electricity to cool the buildings that contain them.

Natural gas generating systems are seen as the quickest solution to meeting electrical power needs.

But, Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson says even that isn’t a quick solution.

Generation is only one part of the A-I electrical demand problem.

South Dakota’s rural landscape could be reshaped by the development of Artificial Intelligence.

One of the roadblocks is the massive amount of electricity needed to power AI data centers.

South Dakota Utilities would have to expand existing power generation plants…and build new ones to meet the demand.

And that’s only part of the problem.

Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson says delivering the power generated by those facilities is also a challenge.

Jumping through the regulatory hoops of building a transmission line can take several years.

The race is on in developing Artificial Intelligence.

The U-S currently leads the world in the number of AI data centers which is critical in areas like national defense.

AI also holds the keys to medical breakthroughs in curing deadly ailments like cancer.

For Senator Mike Rounds the potential for medical advancements is personal.

There is at least one company considering an Artificial Intelligence Data Center in South Dakota…but so far none have been developed.