The Internet’s Invisible Engines: Why Data Centers Are the Heartbeat of America

By Stephen Moore on July 24, 2026

Recently, I took a daylong field trip to tour a giant data center near Dulles International Airport in Loudon County, Virginia.

“The cloud” refers to the hardware that stores trillions of data files—research papers, love letters, the entirety of the Library of Congress, and virtually everything ever written, invented, or retrievable online. In essence, the cloud is synonymous with data centers.

Many people do not realize that without these massive facilities—which have been demonized by figures across the political spectrum from Senator Elizabeth Warren to Steve Bannon—there would be no internet, no digital storage, no smartphone applications, no GPS systems, no missile defense systems, no ride-hailing services, and no Amazon deliveries.

I am aware that Americans are deeply divided on the benefits of data centers, with a majority expressing concerns about having one near their community. I support allowing local communities to decide whether they want such facilities in their areas.

However, if people actually visited a data center—as I did—they would be astounded by the jaw-dropping technological complexity within.

If you have the chance to tour one of these facilities, take it and bring your children along.

These data centers are multibillion-dollar industrial and engineering marvels. They serve as the central nervous system for our future communications, commerce, healthcare, entertainment, and national defense.

The data center I visited stores equipment covering two football fields that keeps the internet functioning and records billions of online interactions globally every minute. Its speed and efficiency are mind-numbing. Contrast this with 1950s telephone switchboard operators manually connecting each phone call.

Data centers process billions of transactions and computations across the country to serve tens of millions of users each minute.

I regret that I was unable to take photographs, as photography is prohibited inside these facilities.

Data center companies spend millions on security due to threats from drone attacks or Chinese espionage. A terrorist strike on even a handful of such facilities could cause an economic collapse.

The Virginia data center I visited pays far more than its fair share for energy consumption and has reduced costs for homeowners and local businesses—a model that should be standard for all future installations.

It also provides over one thousand jobs, helping to fund schools, parks, police departments, hospitals, and Little League fields.

I have rarely seen so many construction workers, heavy trucks, and massive Caterpillar machines—yet I do not know what they do.

This is economic progress and the foundation of our digital economy.

I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if Henry Ford had faced opposition to his auto plants in Michigan a century ago. Would people have blocked them due to noise, energy use, water consumption, and air pollution? Today, if Americans lost internet access or their devices, how angry would they be?

Over the next decade, we need to build approximately three times as many data centers as we currently do. Failing to act risks leaving America behind technologically.

Stephen Moore is a former senior economic adviser for the Trump administration and co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for educational freedom.