Listen to “Same Fear, New Technology” on Spreaker.
Information has become scalable in a way never before imagined.
Knowledge — once scarce, expensive to share, and tightly controlled — is now abundant, cheaper to distribute, and accessible to more people than at any point in history.
A new technology emerges. It introduces mobility in how information is created. It drives efficiency — more output, faster. And it applies a new understanding of mechanics that makes the exchange of ideas not just easier, but brings it to a height once unimaginable.
Radio? No.
Television? Not quite.
The internet? Not this time.
Social media? Data centers? Still no.
The year is 1440, in Mainz, Germany. The man is Johannes Gutenberg.
His breakthrough — the printing press — combined movable metal type, oil-based ink, and a mechanical press adapted from wine-making. And with it, for the first time, the mass spread of information — and the knowledge it produced — becomes reality.
Books could now be produced faster, cheaper, and in greater numbers than ever imagined. In 1455, roughly 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible were printed — without the slow, error-prone labor of hand copying. A record.
But progress, even as profound as this, met resistance.
The Church feared losing control over information. Scribes feared losing their livelihoods. Monarchs feared the spread of ideas that could lead to unrest. The possibility of disruption brought fear rather than the hope of opportunity.
Sound familiar?
Centuries later, innovation still brings the same concerns.
But we have the benefit of history. We know the printing press created discomfort, but also undeniable advancement that far outweighed it. That’s the pattern of innovation.
Still, that’s not an excuse to dismiss concerns. Questions must be addressed – openly, transparently, and honestly. Otherwise, acceptance comes slower, and harder, than it needs to.
And that brings us to today. West Virginia now faces its own moment with the rise of data centers.
The stakes are real: growth in artificial intelligence… the expanding data economy… tax revenue in a state that needs it… and the opportunity for meaningful employment.
“Some are for it; some are again it,” as we often say throughout our hills and hollers.
That’s healthy. People should know where they stand. But just as important, they should know why they stand there.
Before deciding, West Virginians have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to understand the issue. The benefits. The drawbacks. And everything in between. To learn from other states’ mistakes instead of repeating them.
Because here’s the reality:
Data centers are coming. If not here, then somewhere else. The tech revolution isn’t slowing down.
And energy – our longstanding advantage – gives West Virginia an edge.
For once, data centers offer something different: an end user here at home. Not just exporting value out on a wire or a pipeline, but capturing more of it within our borders.
All told, data centers can be a strong economic development opportunity – if done right. With proper safeguards. With public input. With transparency.
The responsibility now falls to our leaders to get it right. And to the public to separate fact from the noise generated by a few modern-day luddites in the name of misguided agendas.