Where the Internet Lives

Chasing Arrows Nov 06, 2024

Plastics production has doubled in the last two decades, clogging up our oceans and showing up in our organs. The massive growth in plastics production is also increasing CO2 output and driving up fossil fuel demand.

Meanwhile, only 8% of plastic actually gets recycled, challenging our trust in the waste management system.

But a new set of tools driven by AI, robotics, and material science are helping recycle plastics, steel, textiles, and just about everything else. And a new generation of entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers are devoting themselves to launching those tools.

In this episode, we examine technology advances that are helping recyclers convert hard-to-recycle waste into a valuable feedstock – and what it means for building a circular economy with a singular goal of radically reducing global waste.

Guests:

Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google
Astro Teller, captain of moonshots, at X, the moonshot factory
Rey Banatao, project lead at X, the moonshot factory
Julia Mangin, head of sustainability, Recology
Emma Lingle, project manager at X, the moonshot factory

Watch our complementary documentary about how scientists and entrepreneurs at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, are inventing tools driven by AI, robotics, and material science to recycle plastics, steel, textiles, and just about everything else. It's all part of their vision to build a circular economy that will radically reduce global waste.

Invisible Threats Oct 30, 2024

Last March, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It carried more than 40 payloads on board, including a satellite called MethaneSAT, which was designed to track methane emissions around the globe.

Cutting methane emissions is a critical step toward reducing the rise of global temperatures that climate change is spreading to communities.

In this episode, we have two stories about how data centers – and the AI they enable – are helping to mitigate the invisible threats of heat and air pollution around the world, particularly for vulnerable populations.

From satellites to tree canopies, we ask how AI can help protect human health, reduce air pollution, and temper the urban heat island effect in our cities.

Guests:

Mansi Kansal, Cool Roofs product manager at Google
Dr. Monica Bharel, clinical lead for public sector health at Google
Karin Tuxen-Bettman, Google Earth outreach manager
Millie Chu Baird, VP, Office of Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
Fatima Luna, chief resilience officer, City of Tucson

Watch our complementary documentary about how Google’s data centers are helping make the invisible threats of air pollution and methane emissions visible.

Growing a Better Food System Oct 23, 2024

Dwane Roth is a fourth-generation farmer growing corn, wheat, sorghum, and sunflower in southwestern Kansas. Back in 2016, the state of Kansas launched a three-year pilot designed to test the latest water conservation technologies on three working farms. Dwane’s farm was one of them.

Seeing the benefits, Dwane became an outspoken advocate for high-tech approaches to water conservation – approaches that could help restore the critical Ogallala Aquifer running underneath most of western Kansas.

In this episode, we ask how data-driven predictive tools are helping farmers use less water and improve yields. Plus, we look at how data and AI are getting excess food to those who need it most. And we confront the paradox of hunger and food waste existing at the same time, in the same places.

Guests:

Emily Ma, head of special projects in REWS sustainability at Google
Prem Ramaswami, head of Data Commons at Google
Stephanie Zidek, vice president of data and analytics, Feeding America
Dwane Roth, farmer and water conservation advocate in Kansas
Astro Teller, captain of moonshots at X, the moonshot factory

Watch our complementary documentary about how data and AI are getting excess food to those who need it most, and the paradox of hunger and food waste existing at the same time, in the same places.

Keeping the Lights On Oct 16, 2024

In January 2024, winter storm Gerri swept across the Midwest, bringing subzero temperatures with it. In Omaha, Nebraska, just as everyone was turning up the heat, the city’s four thermal power plants went offline.

Tim McAreavey is the VP of Customer Service at Omaha Public Power District. As the freeze gripped Nebraska, Tim and his team began an all-out effort to enlist the help of their biggest customers to reduce energy demand – including a Google data center.

In this episode, we have three stories about how data centers are helping decarbonize the energy system – and how to manage the growing energy needs of AI. Plus we learn about Tapestry's mission to make everything on the grid visible by using data science and AI to plan, predict, and monitor assets across the network.

And we ask how data centers and the tools they enable are helping communities accelerate clean energy while making the electric grid more resilient, literally keeping the lights on for homeowners, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

Guests:

Page Crahan, Tapestry team lead at X, the moonshot factory
Savannah Goodman, data and software climate solutions lead at Google
Urs Hölze, Google fellow and former senior VP for engineering at Google
Alexina Jackson, vice president of strategic development, AES
Tim McAreavey, vice president of customer service, Omaha Public Power District
Astro Teller, captain of moonshots at X, the moonshot factory

Watch our complementary documentary about how AI-assisted tools like Alphabet’s Tapestry are helping accelerate clean energy while making the electric grid more resilient—literally keeping the lights on for homeowners, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

Data on Fire Oct 09, 2024

According to NASA, nearly two-thirds of all Western wildfires recorded over the past 75 years occurred in just the last two decades.

Firefighters and fire researchers are seeing this trend first hand. As wildfires grow more destructive and more unpredictable, fire experts need better ways to account for extreme variability.

Now, major advances in AI are helping to predict wildfire behavior, and protect communities across the globe.

In this episode, we examine how data centers enable researchers, policymakers, and NGOs to mitigate climate threats like forest fires, reduce emissions, and enable a wide range of decarbonization solutions.

Guests:

Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google
Olivia Gagliardi, smokejumper, Missoula, Mont.
Matt Hancher, director of engineering, Geo for Environment team at Google
LaWen Hollingsworth, fire behavior specialist, Fire Modeling Institute
Kit O'Connor, research ecologist, U.S. Forest Service
Prem Ramaswami, head of Data Commons at Google
Jorge Rivera, director of data, ONE Campaign

Watch our complementary documentary on how AI is helping researchers predict and respond to fires more effectively.

A Preview of Season 4: Resilience Sep 25, 2024

Where the Internet Lives is back for a fourth season.

In past episodes, we’ve taken you on tours of data centers, talked to people who run the supercomputers that make up the internet, and showed you a world few people get to see.

This season, host Stephanie Wong explores how data center infrastructure is critical for making the world a more resilient place.

Over the next five episodes, you'll hear stories about people who are building data-driven solutions for some of the world’s biggest challenges – from the U.S. Forest Service using AI to better predict wildfires, to utilities using AI to improve grid resiliency.

As communities all over the world grapple with extreme weather, rising energy demand, food insecurity, and public health threats, the role of data centers is more important than ever for supporting solutions.

Subscribe to Where the Internet Lives on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get your shows.

And this season, we’ll have some film documentaries to complement our audio stories. The new season drops October 9. We can’t wait to welcome you back.

Machine Learning Unlocks a New Era for Music Jul 12, 2023

Hanoi Hantrakul is a musician and research scientist who works on audio and artificial intelligence. He is a former AI resident at Google working on creative applications of machine learning for music. His musical nom de plume is "Yaboi Hanoi."

Project Magenta is a research group inside Google that started with a simple question: Can we use machine learning to create compelling art and enhance creative expression?

As an AI expert and musician, Hanoi has worked on many different tools that expand the possibilities of musical composition. And thanks to the underlying technical innovations inside data centers, these tools are getting much better – opening the doors for musicians and non-musicians alike.

Hanoi also won an international AI song contest with his composition titled “Enter Demons and Gods,” which mashed together AI instruments with musical influences from Southeast Asia.

Listen to a full version of Hanoi's music, plus other AI song contest entries. Find out more information about Google's Project Magenta.

A Finnish Paper Town Becomes a Digital Hub Jun 28, 2023

Mikko Green is an operations manager at Google's data center in Hamina, Finland. In 2012, when Mikko applied to work at the facility, he was excited about the prospect of moving back to the country where his mother was born.

Over the years, Mikko has witnessed Finland's broader economic shift toward digital tech, which is now a top industry in the country.

Finland is a top global producer of paper. But every year, paper demand falls – putting pressure on the industry. Faced with challenges in the pulp and paper industry, Finland is pursuing new forms of economic development. Data centers are one opportunity.

For over a decade, Google has been operating a data center in Hamina, Finland, at an abandoned paper mill. The company has invested €2 billion in the Hamina data center and related network infrastructure – and hired workers who were formerly employed in paper production.

Learn more about Google's investments in communities like Hamina.

From Despair to a Dream Job in the Trades Jun 14, 2023

Sarah Hess is one of a million union workers in the U.S. construction industry. But she’s a rare woman in the field. About 90% of the construction workforce is male – a number that hasn't changed much over the past three decades.

Oregon Tradeswomen is an organization devoted to helping women like Sarah build careers in construction, manufacturing, mechanical, and utility trades. In 2022, Google gave $150,000 to the organization to support diversifying these industries. It's part of a multi-state effort at Google to support programs that elevate tradeswomen – some of whom will eventually build data centers.

Sarah has faced many obstacles in her life: homelessness, drug addiction, and a life-threatening tumor. Her new career in the construction trade has helped her overcome many of those difficulties.

Learn more about the Oregon Tradeswomen program.

A Creative Water Solution for a Dutch Data Center May 31, 2023

The Netherlands has a unique relationship with water. One-third of the country lies below sea level, and almost 20% of the mainland is water – largely due to the 6,000 kilometers of waterways that support industry and recreation.

Pumping and diverting and blocking water is what made the Netherlands possible, turning it into a vital European trading hub and top agricultural exporter. But now, the masters of controlling water are facing a new challenge: worsening drought.

That’s why Google partnered with North Water, a Dutch water treatment company, to harness water from a network of canals to cool its data center.

The €‎45-million project featured construction of a pipeline that can carry 10 million cubic meters of water each year to the data center. It also required a new treatment plant to treat and filter the water. The project illustrates the creative, sustainable methods for cooling data centers that Google is deploying around the world.

Learn more about Google’s partnership with North Water and Google’s water sustainability commitments. After you listen to the episode, watch a short documentary film about the project here.

The ‘Gaygler’ Fighting for Same-Sex Rights in Taiwan May 17, 2023

Ian Yang knew he was gay at an early age. But it wasn’t until arriving at Google that he felt comfortable opening up about his sexuality – eventually lighting a spark that made him a positive force in the political discussion around LGBTQ+ rights in Taiwan.

Ian is an operations engineer at Google’s data center in Changhua County, Taiwan. He ensures that management and training processes run effectively inside the facility. He is also one of the coordinators of the largest Gay Pride parade in East Asia.

Over the last decade, Ian has witnessed – and influenced – dramatic change in the politics around same-sex rights in Taiwan.

Learn more about Google’s data center operations in Taiwan. Read about Google’s support of the LGBTQ+ community.

From Trauma to Triumph May 03, 2023

Note: this episode contains references to sexual assault. Please take care while listening.

Data centers are the latest in a long list of big projects that Dave Moody has tackled over three decades running a construction company. But as an aspiring Black architect, he didn’t know if he’d ever have the same opportunities as his white counterparts.

Racial disparities didn’t stop him. Dave started with a single $88,000 contract in the late 1980s and grew his company, CD Moody Construction, to build museums, stadiums, and airport terminals.

As his business expanded, Dave had to face a personal trauma head-on – reckoning with the memories of childhood sexual abuse – and learn to live his life as a healed person, not just a survivor. That allowed him to seize on new opportunities, like when Google came looking for help with data center construction in Georgia. It also allowed him to become a model and mentor for others.

Learn more about Google’s supplier diversity program. After you listen to the episode, watch a short documentary film about Dave and his journey here.

Data Centers Help Fuel the Solar-Energy Boom Apr 19, 2023

A solar-centric world is coming. Solar generates just over 3% of the world's electricity. By the middle of the century, it could make up nearly 40% of global electricity consumption.

That growth is made possible by sophisticated manufacturing, maturing business models, and fast-dropping costs. It’s also increasingly enabled by artificial intelligence – and the data centers that power it.

Samuel Adeyemo is the co-founder of Aurora Solar, a company using AI to quickly model and execute millions of rooftop solar projects. Aurora partners with Google’s Project Sunroof to integrate vast geospatial data sets into the software.

As the digital tools behind solar get more sophisticated, data centers have the potential to be the backbone of the clean energy economy.

Learn how Project Sunroof is enabling more solar. To discover how data centers are supporting clean energy around the globe, check out Google's 24/7 carbon-free energy mission.

From Furniture to Fiber, a Town Changed Apr 05, 2023

Lenoir, North Carolina, was once a global furniture manufacturing hub. For Rachel Scercy, the furniture industry was the center of her family life. And then the jobs vanished in the 1990s.

Today, communities like Lenoir are often seen as great sites for data centers because of their strong industrial histories. In 2007, Google built a $1.2 billion data center a mile outside of Lenoir, creating over a thousand jobs to date – hundreds in construction, and hundreds of permanent jobs in operations. Since then, the region has attracted more data centers from other top tech, retail, and entertainment companies.

Intimately experienced with the ups and downs of Lenoir's economic transformation, Rachel is part of Lenoir's new generation of workers who are employed at a data center rather than in the furniture industry.

Learn more

about career opportunities and Google’s investments in communities like Lenoir.

Data Center on the Prairie Mar 22, 2023

In Tennessee, the digital future is merging with the ecological past.

Clarksville, where Google has a data center, is home to a fragile ecosystem that has vanished across America: grasslands. What if we could use large campuses like data centers to transform land back into long-lost prairies – restoring ecological diversity and an important piece of American history? Dwayne Estes of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute is dedicating his life to making that a reality.

After you listen to the episode, watch the documentary about grasslands restoration at Google’s data center.

A Preview of Season 3 Mar 01, 2023

Where the Internet Lives is back for a third season.

Over the last two seasons, we’ve introduced you to the technologies and people that run data centers, unveiling a world few people get to see.

This season, host Stephanie Wong explores how data centers change the world around them in surprising and transformative ways.

We’ll hear stories about economic transformations, technological leaps, human rights, equity, and environmental progress – all enabled by data centers.

Subscribe to Where the Internet Lives on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get your shows.

“Holy Cow, This Is What You Are Building?” Jan 27, 2022

Building a data center can be as complex as the machines inside. It requires teams of construction experts who are constantly solving football field-sized puzzles – people like Sarah Godbehere.

For Sarah, construction is a family affair. Growing up, she watched her father build schools, car washes, and office buildings.

After getting her engineering degree, Sarah realized that she wanted to work on projects with immediate and tangible outcomes. And that led her to oversee construction of Google's data centers in Northern Virginia. As a program manager, she literally helps build new data centers from the ground up.