OpenAI might rebrand its data centers as ‘AI compute campuses’

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Data centers are deeply unpopular. But what if we called them something else?

Axios reports that OpenAI is preparing a “PR blitz” for after the midterm elections on Tuesday, as Democrats seem likely to win back the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, too.

The company’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane told Axios that the midterms will be “a bit of a movie trailer for what you’re going to see in 2028,” when he expects AI to be “the issue” in the presidential election.

So OpenAI is to influence the AI debate moving forward, with Lehane discussing several proposals, including the development of AI “speed limits”; finding ways to help people see AI as empowering them in their daily lives; pushing the U.S. to take a role in developing global standards — and yes, rebranding data centers as “AI compute campuses.”

Lehane also described the conversation around data centers (a debate that has pushed Amazon and Microsoft to say they will no longer use NDAs in their negotiations with local governments) as “good and healthy.”

“Communities should hold companies responsible and accountable so they really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects,” he said.