The Promise and Peril Arrive on the Front Lines

Key Takeaways

There I was, standing in Loudoun County’s Data Center Alley with 40 congressional staff from NACo’s Federal Fellowship Program, surrounded by the hum of the modern world in action. 

More than 200 high-performance computing facilities sit in this corridor of Northern Virginia — the literal birthplace of the internet. Together these massive data centers generate more than $1.2 billion in annual tax revenue for the county and its schools, money that flows directly into classrooms, community centers, and parks. 

That’s the part of the story we love to tell: county government, on the frontlines, turning a global industry into a sheriff deputy’s salary or meals at the local senior center. 

But standing there, I’ll be honest — I felt a rush of emotions all at once. Anxious. Curious. Inspired. And, yes, terrified. 

That afternoon collided with something else on my mind. I’ve been serving on the Partnership on AI’s global task force on labor and the economy, and the conversations at that table don’t let you look away from the hard questions: What is happening to the way we work? To wages versus wealth? To the character of our communities?  

And how does NACo help county leaders keep pace when technological change is outrunning the pace of policy — and even human experience itself? 

A recent presentation by a leader of Google’s DeepMind team did not calm my racing mind. It convinced me of the sheer speed and force of what’s already here. This is happening today, not in some distant decade. 

Here is what I keep thinking. Counties did not ask to be on the front lines of the AI era. But we are.  The power demands, the water use, the land battles, the tax base, the workforce changes, the pressure for public services — all of it lands on us first. 

The promise and the peril arrive at the same address: the county square. 
I don’t have this figured out, and we should all be suspicious of anyone who claims they do. What I do know is that local government has always been where theory meets reality. That’s our world. 

So, I’m leaning into the curiosity and the realities in front of us and letting the anxiety keep me sharp. The evolution of change is never ending, whether we’re ready or not. Our job is to make sure counties — and the people we all serve — aren’t just along for the ride. 

More to come. There always is.