Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced Built Together, a program to support U.S. communities that host its data centers. AWS will invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in job training, education and infrastructure projects. The initiative aims to address growing local resistance to the AI-fueled data center construction boom and help secure capacity for AI workloads.
AWS CEO Matt Garman said the company will no longer use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with government agencies regarding its projects. The move follows criticism of data center development and a growing number of local construction moratoriums across the country.
Garman described the data center buildout as a national security imperative. He also pushed back against what he called myths about the facilities’ environmental and economic impact.