Talk Back radio interview, KGVO

Missoula, Montana, September 17, 2026.

Co-host Bob Seidenschwarz talks to Jennifer Warren about data centers and the AI trade driving economic growth. A new white paper report sparked the conversation.

A few themes covered, based on the timeline’s order, include:

1) Cutting through misinformation: The white paper report is framed as an attempt to separate fact from noise in the AI/data center debate. My position: understand the technology and the infrastructure on their own terms, then decide — rather than reacting to platitudes from either political side.

2) Economic growth and diffusion: Data center development is one of the economy’s key current growth drivers — not confined to a few hubs but diffusing across many regions, counties, and states.

Long form radio: KGVO on demand (black bar) or Apple Podcasts (click image)

From Apple Podcast, Sept 17, 2026: Bob Seidenschwarz and Jennifer Warren talked about data centers and AI trade driving economic growth.

3) The economics of scale: Data centers vary enormously in size — from small ten-megawatt facilities to massive hyperscale campuses — and that variation is a market decision, not a one-size-fits-all model. Many large campuses require scale to justify the investment.

4) Select power and energy

5) Jobs and local impact: Beyond construction, which is prone to “boom and bust” comparisons (citing the Midland, Texas and the shale boom) — she argued data centers generate durable local benefit. This includes tax revenue and an ecosystem of supporting businesses.

6) Geopolitics and national security

7) Alternatives and speculative idea