China goes rural with data centers in quest to power AI

Employees walk into Huawei's European-themed data center on July 24 in Guian New Area in southwestern China's Guizhou province. GUIAN NEW AREA, CHINA - In China's hilly Guizhou province, a cluster of European-style buildings complete with a clock tower and a multi-arched bridge emits a low, permanent hum -- a clue to its unexpected identity as tech giant Huawei's largest data center. The town-like complex is unique in design, but not in its placement. Dozens of data centers have been constructed in the southwestern province in recent years. They are part of a government strategy that has seen much of the digital infrastructure for breakneck artificial intelligence development across China's eastern seaboard established in the country's less populated, rural west. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.