Where the Machines Go A book in manuscript

Where the Machines Go

The decisions about where artificial intelligence machines go are made early, by a few mostly unelected people, before the public is asked. This book follows them from the ground to orbit.

By Joseph W. Davis

Opening scene · Prince William County, Virginia
Longer than a full day.

A 29-hour public hearing approved one of the largest data center campuses ever proposed. The rezoning was later voided because the public notice was defective. The same pattern recurs in Utah, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Missouri: the terms are set before residents are asked.

First 24 hoursHours 25 to 29
The argument in one diagram

Three gates a site must pass

Placement once turned on fiber and a welcoming county. It now turns on whether power, water and local consent can be had at all.

Gate 1

Power

Can it be connected, and who pays?

Some PJM waits for large loads have passed eight years. Ohio's tariff: pay for at least 85% of contracted capacity, for up to 12 years. Texas tracks about 474 GW of requests, which are not projects.

Decided by the utility, the grid operator and the state commission.
Gate 2

Water

Is there enough on the hottest day?

Use is modest nationally, about 2% of U.S. consumption, but poorly measured: no federal agency reports data centers as a category. Peak days, not annual totals, trigger new pipes and costs.

Decided by the local water utility.
Gate 3

Consent

Was the public asked, and told?

Loudoun ended by-right approval, but grandfathered cases still proceed without a board vote. Prince William's Digital Gateway rezoning was voided over defective notice.

Decided by the county board and planning office, and a court when notice fails.
Where the book goes

Eleven places, one pattern

Each square is one state, not drawn to scale. Select a dark square to see what the book follows there.

Selected

Pick a state

Eleven states are marked. Each one is a place where a decision about a data center was made, contested or reversed.

Why now

The public has noticed. The money is already moving.

71%of adults oppose a data center in their area.Gallup, March 2026
$725Bof planned capital spending by four companies in 2026.Yahoo Finance's count
The Reader's Guide

Nine questions any resident can ask

Each chapter asks one question about placement, states what the evidence supports and ends on what remains open. The guide at the back turns them into questions for a hearing, a records request or a letter.

  1. 01Is anyone voting on this?
  2. 02What does the notice say, and when did it run?
  3. 03Who pays for the power?
  4. 04What permits are required, and who issues them?
  5. 05What numbers sit behind the promise?
  6. 06What happens on the hottest day?
  7. 07Is it a project or a request?
  8. 08Where have residents been heard?
  9. 09What do the records not show?
How it is built

Sources first

  • Government records, courts and audits come first. Industry and advocacy claims are labeled as such.
  • One argument, tested against evidence and its best objections.
  • Honest about the counts and costs that sources dispute, and the harms no one has measured.
  • A prologue, twenty-one chapters, an epilogue and a reader's guide, from land and the grid to chips, money, security, orbit, the sea and the law.
The author

Joseph W. Davis

A cybersecurity specialist with more than ten years in information security. Before 2008 he worked as a builder. He holds an M.S. in cybersecurity and a B.S. in information assurance, and his master's dissertation examined artificial intelligence in industrial controllers.

The book rests on public documents, court records, agency data and published reporting. Claude, an AI assistant made by Anthropic, helped with semantics, logistics and review. The conclusions, and any errors, are the author's.

Agents, editors and readers
The full book proposal is available on request.
joe.davis@wherethemachinesgo.com