EP: 73 | THEY'RE BUILDING A $12B AI FACILITY IN OUR CITY, NOBODY TOLD US.

What if a $12 BILLION AI data center was coming to your city… and nobody told you? Rockford, Illinois, might be next—and the truth is deeper than “jobs” and “innovation.”

In this episode of The Think Successfully Room, Q.B. and Tiffany Ingram break down the proposed $12 billion data center coming to Rockford, Illinois—and why the community is raising serious concerns.

From environmental risks to lack of transparency, this conversation dives into the REAL impact of artificial intelligence infrastructure on everyday people.

👍 Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more conversations on AI, financial literacy, and health
📲 Follow us on IG for updates & clips
🎙️ New episodes weekly

#elonmusk #ai #technology #elonmusk #technology 

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction & Episode Setup  
00:56 – Data Center Coming to Rockford ($12B Project)  
02:17 – Why This Conversation Matters  
03:04 – Inside the Community Meeting  
04:27 – $60M Tax Revenue… But At What Cost?  
05:36 – Community Concerns Begin to Surface  
07:57 – 3 Million Gallons of Water PER DAY?!  
09:22 – Why Rockford Was Chosen  
10:47 – Pollution, Noise & Environmental Risks  
12:00 – Lack of Transparency & Unknown Tenant  
13:24 – Communities Fighting Back (Perkins Example)  
15:34 – Timeline: 2027–2028 Build Plans  
17:28 – Mayor’s Position & “Economic Opportunity”  
17:58 – The Truth About Job Creation  
19:29 – Are Data Centers Even Long-Term?  
21:26 – Nuclear Plant Incident Raises Concerns  
22:12 – Innovation vs Community Impact  
24:08 – Rising Utility Costs & Who Pays  
25:30 – Health Risks & Air Quality Concerns  
26:55 – AI vs Quality of Life  
28:11 – Community Voices Being Ignored  
31:35 – Is This Already Decided?  
33:23 – Calling for Accountability (Mayor Interview Idea)  
34:43 – AI Expansion Is a National Trend  
35:21 – If It Happens… What Do We Get?  
36:20 – “What’s In It For Me?” Perspective  
37:46 – Turning This Into a Series  
39:03 – Final Thoughts: Living With AI  
40:45 – Power Grid Risks Explained  
41:15 – Closing Message

--

📌 Connect with Us:

Think Successfully Room:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_think.successfully

Tiffany Ingram:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ms_tiffany_ingram/
--
Business Inquires:
Email: ithinksuccessfully@gmail.com

Transcript

Introduction & Episode Setup

SPEAKER_03 0:16

Man, welcome back to another episode of the Think Successfully Room. This is a platform where we focus on building mindsets. We building character, bringing value to both you and your people, and aligning your body with your intelligence. I'm your host, QB So F and Amazing, and this is Tiffany Ingram. And together we talk about the evolution of technology, which we all know is artificial intelligence. Tiff, how you feeling?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Man, listen, that that intro gets me every time.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Man, that intro, that intro busted. I need it. I remember for a long, for a long time, you was like, man, we need to get that together. Because I I would say, I would say my part, and then I would just be like, I just say your name. I ain't even had so I had to I had to get you right, like I give myself right every time. So uh I want to say a couple months ago, right? We had that conversation about uh uh

Data Center Coming to Rockford ($12B Project)

SPEAKER_03 1:12

XAI, the the uh the data center in South Memphis, Colossus. And um it's one thing seeing that happen in another city, and and and you know, and we and we continue to stress about you know how bad we felt for the people in South Miss Memphis simply because it was happening in a in a predominantly black neighbor, you know, environment. But let's talk about the fact that we stay in Rockford, Illinois, and they trying to, these people trying to put a data center in right here in Rockford. Yeah. Um So, you know, y'all, before we get into this episode, when me and Tiff had that that conversation on South Memphis, we seen, we we read on that and was like, damn, this is crazy. But to see it happening in your own city is even is even crazier. So Rockford uh may be getting a $12 billion data center uh um right here. So obviously, you know, uh a data center powers AI, cloud computing, and and internet for um infrastructure. Um it benefits companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta platforms, you know. So today, me and Tiff

Why This Conversation Matters

SPEAKER_03 2:33

wanna want to kind of break this down because you know, she be the one that always says, like, okay, it sounds good, you know, but but we got to think about how big these infrastructures is, and you know, what are the what are the environmental trade-offs, right? So we want to break down what what this project means for Rockford, the environment, and just the people that stay in Rockford, Illinois as well. So, Tip, before we get further into the episode, you recently had uh attended a a meeting about this, about this subject particularly. So what was what was what was what exactly was being said, or you know, what was the was it people happy about it, was they unhappy? Like what was going on in that meeting?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

So I

Inside the Community Meeting

SPEAKER_00 3:20

will say, um, and I'm gonna preface this, because if you see my shirt, I always say I'm your accountability partner, right? I am I am an avid AI user, um, because it's here, it's not going anywhere, right? Uh, but what I'm starting to learn as everyone else is learning, there's a good, bad, and ugly side to everything that we do in this world. And so this listening session was really a place where the community could come and voice their concerns. Now, it wasn't widely publicized, right? And so again, I had someone reach out to me and say, Hey, were you aware of this? I said no, and luckily I was able to attend. But the folks that were there, because it seems like everyone just found out when the Rock River um newspaper dropped this article and said, Hey, Winnebago County is being considered for a data center as well as Cherry Valley. So Microsoft has approached Cherry Valley, which is right up the street and around the corner, right? Um, to have a data center there. And so they're in talks with that. But this one particularly, it was a lot of hush-hush. So everybody got on the mic. And I did not because I took a posture of I wanted to listen and take the information and really compare it to Boxtown and see how we even got here. So from the

$60M Tax Revenue… But At What Cost?

SPEAKER_00 4:43

meeting, what I understood, so again, there were very limited people that were in favor, right? Um, the closest that you got to an in favor type of response was if this deal is inevitable, because it's a lot of money on the table, meaning, yes, this is gonna be a $12 billion investment. But if you look at the annual tax um revenue that the city would get from taxes, and I want to quote it because I don't want somebody coming for me in the comments, that's not what it is. No, everything, everything that I'm about to quote or say on this particular episode, you can go back and fact check it. 60 million annually in property tax revenue. So it's a $12 billion investment that's going to yield $60 million in annual tax and property tax revenue. So we're gonna let that sink in. There's going to be a push for this to pass. $60 million in property taxes?

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Yeah, that's uh yeah, that's okay. I ain't expect you to say that number, but so yeah, that's that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

So

Community Concerns Begin to Surface

SPEAKER_00 5:52

and so the so the commentary was around no, we don't want it at all. But if we have to have it, how can we, as a community residents, get the best deal possible? So I took it as because there was a lady behind me that bought up South South Memphis and brought up Boxtown. And I said, yes, that was a primarily or predominantly black and brown area. And I will tell you, it wasn't a many black and brown people because where they're posing it is like out past the airport south side, right? Now, some of the folks in those real rural areas, they were there, but it wasn't a lot of black and brown folks there really hearing about what's happening, okay? So that was telling within itself. Like we need to know what's happening around us and what's directly going to impact you. So to be in the room is to be alert.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

And uh, you know, I'm shaking my head on that tip because if we if we stop worrying, uh uh if we stop worrying so much about trying to kick it every day, we would know what's happening. We would know what's happening in the environment, you know what I'm saying? But like we and and and it's it I'm shaking my head because everybody else was in that room but us. You you know what I'm saying? Like that's like that shit gonna affect us too.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

I'm like, because we know where it's at, and the south side, again, not so much the rural area where it is, but the south side is surrounding that. So again, and that's uh, I would say, you know, not lower, lower income, but when you look at south side compared to east side, it's certain stuff that no, you try to put that over here. We have a bunch of land on the east side. And nobody say they they're not saying that here, like that no, no means no. So again, just going back, and I don't want to go down that rabbit hole, but there were just you know, people talking about the environment, people talking about one lady, she broke out in tears because again, she's within eye view of this facility and her children, right? What is it going to do to their well water, you know, because this particular project, now the thought process to cool a data center takes about one

3 Million Gallons of Water PER DAY?!

SPEAKER_00 8:13

million to five million um gallons of water a day to cool it. This one particularly is three million. That's in the contract. Like it would take three million gallons of water a day, and when we look at that, that's equivalent to thirty thousand to fifty thousand people using water in a reasonable context, it's not overly inflated. So we have a large water source here, and that's why the pull is to get these data centers around large water sources, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

What is that going to mean for the the folks? If we're using three million gallons of water a day, now again, they were really, really hyping up the whole the species of fish and all of this other stuff. I'm thinking, I'm sitting there thinking, what is this gonna mean for my water bill and my electricity bill?

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Yeah, yep. And it and it's just like it's like it really takes a toll on our water supply. You know what I'm saying? Like all of those things are at risk. And from what I read, you know, we were talking about uh going back to the South Memphis, right, when we were discussing that. You know, we we touched, we wanted to know, okay, why South Memphis, right? And it's because they have something that they wanted as far as the electricity that

Why Rockford Was Chosen

SPEAKER_03 9:38

was needed, the power that was needed to generate the database. Rockford is on the same list. You know what I'm saying? Rockford, by us being in the Midwest, we have a lot of things that these data centers data setters want in order to in order to paddle them. You know, they need them. You know what I'm saying? Not only is so it's a it's a list of things, right? So uh just just a few advantages that you know our area has, right? We have there's large industrial land that's available. They have access to major power infrastructure. Uh we're close to Chicago in proximity, right? Um Chicago, if not one of them, but the largest hub when it comes to, you know, just just internet networks on top of Rockford is just an affordable area to be in. You know, so I'm I mean, it's one thing to say, okay, they have the electricity we need, but we got about four to five different things that they need in order to power these databases. And um I'm I'm I'm happy that they they came out or had something like that to be able to voice their opinion and how they felt about about a project like a data center happening right here in Rockford and exactly what that would mean as far as noise pollutant pollution, as far as you know, the different, you know, the low frequency noises that's gonna be running 24-7 on top

Pollution, Noise & Environmental Risks

SPEAKER_03 11:03

of you know the different turbines that's that's releasing the pollutants into the air, like the nitrogen oxide and the formaldehyde and and different pollutants as well. So, um, man, so out of out of everybody that you heard speak or hop on the microphone at that um at that meeting, who who said something that stuck with you the most?

SPEAKER_00 11:24

It's two things. So there are again, there was some stuff that I knew, right, because we talked about South Memphis, but there's one piece that talks about we don't know who the tenant is. So well, twofold the industrial land that was zoned out in that area was supposed to be for a totally different project, it was like supposed to be for some warehouse or like some some um environmental friendly um project. The project fell through due to funding, it got snatched for whatever reasons. I have my own thoughts around that. But then Monarch Energy, which went out and said, okay, we have this, we

Lack of Transparency & Unknown Tenant

SPEAKER_00 12:16

have this area, we have this land, uh, we need to find out, figure out something to do with it. They started on their own approaching different entities, right? And it came up with oh, we can put a data center here. So who? Who who is it Meta? Is it Amazon? Is it Elon? We don't know who the tenant is.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Right. Who is the entity that's doing that?

SPEAKER_00 12:42

So there's nothing around that. We don't know that piece. Um, and then there's all this hush-hush about NDAs here. There's not a lot of transparency. So there's too many things that we don't know versus the things that we we should know. And a lot of the political, like the aldermen, alder women, uh, just the political officials here are saying they found out when the article dropped. So you mean to tell me nobody, nobody knew about this, except for the mayor knew. Um like it's a close-knit group of people that know about this project. And so, and people are are just saying, hey, we didn't, we didn't know about, we learned about this when you guys did. And so it's like there's several steps ahead of the whole proposal, versus now you have people trying to catch up. And what

Communities Fighting Back (Perkins Example)

SPEAKER_00 13:40

one woman said in um the actual meeting, she was like, the folks that live close nearby this that do not want it at all, have reached out to some folks in, I think it's in Perkins, Illinois, because that that was um an area too where they were proposing a data center, and they successfully got the no vote. So these folks in the room here have already reached out to some of these folks that have been successful in um, again, getting this squash to see, okay, what is your strategy so we can follow the same strategy? Because it's an alarming no.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Yeah, that's you know, that's something um that makes me because I'm questioning, like, if the mayor, yeah, the mayor knew about like how could you not know about this going on, but you he didn't say anything about it. You know what I'm saying? That would, that would, you know, that would be interesting to be able to sit and have a conversation about him and kind of question him about that that project, this project in particular, and really see his response on things.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Um man, I was looking for the article too that said that he had been working with um there's an article I'll keep searching because I want to reference that. This ain't this isn't Tiffany saying, This is the research. So he's it's an article with him saying something about that says that he's been working with, and I gotta go back and look, but that um yeah, there's an article that says that he knew working with some of the like Governor Pritzker and um, and I know I know Pritzker, he don't, he, that man don't get, I know he don't give a f but uh I was finna what what what what was I finna say?

SPEAKER_03 15:31

So with with the government, so it is an article of him saying, like, because my thing is is that so from what I read is that they wanted to make a proposal if they haven't already, is it in 2027? And then they was gonna try to have it built by 2028. So

Timeline: 2027–2028 Build Plans

SPEAKER_03 15:50

my problem is that, okay, as as the mayor of the city of Rockford, you just wasn't gonna say anything about this. You know, whether people cared or not, you just wasn't gonna say nothing, and then they was just gonna wake up and see them beginning to build a data center right across from where they, you know what I'm saying, where where they stay at. I feel like that's a, you know, I feel like that's a I just feel as a mayor, you know, your your responsibilities is at least to get the opinion of the people and see what they think of this project before just going, you know, because it is not saying this is some people that care, that don't care, but then the ones that that has to deal with that, I feel like they could, I feel like their concerns matter. So I am I am interested on exactly what he said in that article, because that uh that would that would be something that I would be interested in in reaching out about and see if he would be willing to sit down and have a talk as far as this project. You know what I'm saying? With me and you both being on there, because I really want to pick his brain as far as if we we can only dig up so much throughout these meetings and what's being pulled on the internet, but you you really know what's going on, so I kind of want to hear, you know what I'm saying, what was happening behind closed doors.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

I am I'm searching vigorously um because I want to know. I gotta look through the article and I'll give it to you in just a second. But no, that would be a good thing because I think what's next to come could because they were talking about okay, when is this on when is this on council floor to to vote a vote on it, right? Because I'm quite sure the rock the Rock River current paper, they dropped the article knowing that it's up for discussion. Um it says Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara has already spoken publicly about the

Mayor’s Position & “Economic Opportunity”

SPEAKER_00 17:44

potential data center and the economic community, uh the economic opportunity it will bring, because you know they're all saying that, hey, it's going to bring jobs, it's going to bring so let's just be real for a second. Let's be real. But the construction jobs, a lot of the construction jobs here are not done by the construction people here. They're outside, they're outside of Rockford. The actual data center does not bring a boatload of jobs. It's probably 200 and they're tech, like, because

The Truth About Job Creation

SPEAKER_00 18:14

again, you have to monitor this center. And again, how many people from this area will be in those jobs? Exactly. So let's be real about that whole thing.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Um, and so but it it just ain't worth the trade-off, though. Like, my in my opinion, it's not worth the trade-off. I mean, we talking about maybe roughly a thousand construction jobs, and and like it's just it's not like I can't.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

And roughly 200 tech.

SPEAKER_03 18:46

Yeah, yeah. And only, yeah, exactly. And I I can only name one person that actually that worked in the construction field, you know what I'm saying? But I I don't really feel like the I mean, what's more important, you know, you trying to provide jobs or using that to justify what's going on. Oh, yeah, it's gonna bring jobs, but at what cost, though? You know what I'm saying? Like, what's more important? The lives of your people are trying to provide a thousand construction jobs.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

And we said that when we talked about um Boxtown. And so there's an article, Blue WaterHealthy Living.com, and the article is titled, Um Rockford Could Get 12 billion, uh, could get 12 billion dot uh 12 billion data center, thousands of jobs, right? Even that headline alone, thousands of jobs for who? And they talked about the other thing too. So I'm gonna read what it says in the article, word for word, but they

Are Data Centers Even Long-Term?

SPEAKER_00 19:45

talked about in the meeting that I went to, the lit, it was called a listening session. They talked about the longevity of these data centers. How long, how many years is it going to take for them to be obsolete? We have, because again, uh Illinois, Rockford particularly, has been a manufacturing town. There's so many abandoned manufacturing buildings because, again, manufacturers were here, they left. So, is that the same thing with the data centers? Because they're saying data centers don't have a long shelf life. So you're gonna build this facility, it's going to suck up all the resources. And then when AI is no longer AI, right? It's not the thing, then we've moved on to something else. And what's going to be what's going to be done with this facility now that we've built it? Um but okay, so it says Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said he and other elected officials are supportive of the project and what it could mean for the city and the region. McNamara said that there are legitimate concerns that some data centers consume too much power and water, but he said that will depend on the end user and the specific design they propose. So, again, who is the end user? We don't know the tenant of this data center. That has not been public knowledge. He said some large data centers produce most of the energy or most of their own power and are developing technologies that utilize less water for cooling. Now, somebody in the meeting said specifically, because when you go on the Monarch website, you can look up some of this stuff that this particular one in question would consume about 3 million gallons of water.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

That's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

That's a lot. Um, we've always been a city of innovation, McNamara said. Whether it's a nuclear uh plant in the 70s, our region is all about this and it would help bring high-tech jobs here. Now, the meeting was held on that day.

Nuclear Plant Incident Raises Concerns

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Remember uh this week, did you see the article where um they were talking about it was a nuclear uh exposure at the Byron Power uh nuclear power plant where uh emergency response, um, ambulances, everything was there. So that had happened, and they were talking about that in a meeting. Like, you see what happened at the nuclear Byron Power Plant where there was a nuclear exposure, and you got people that are hurt. And I'm not laughing because people that are hurt, but it's like in this article, he's talking about we've been about innovation, and yes, that probably. Power plant is here, but guess what? There was actual exposure that day. So yes, there's there are pros and cons to being innovative.

SPEAKER_03 22:27

But

Innovation vs Community Impact

SPEAKER_03 22:28

there has to be a balance though between there has to, I just think there has to be a balance between innovation and just the environment. You know what I'm saying? Um but like you can't, I just feel like I disagree in a way because it's like you say we about innovation, but why we got so many abandoned buildings in Rockford and we ain't deal nothing with them yet. But y'all can spend all this money to build a data center. That's what I'm confused on, but we about innovation.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Well, and it's again, Monarch is saying, hey, this is a $12 billion investment. I guess they're coming up with the money. I don't that part again, maybe there's a part two to this conversation as well, because there's still a lot of there's a lot of information that I want to understand because they talked about the home rule right law that we don't have here. Meaning there are a lot of things from a Rockford standpoint we can't do. We have to wait on the state to tell us whether or not we're going to do them or we're obligated to do them. And so I'm like, okay, I need to research home rule. I need to research the um there was a law that was passed or was up for review that I sent to you around data centers and and things like that specific to Illinois, because Illinois is getting a lot of requests. Why? Because we have a major water source. Duh. You know what I mean? So there's a lot of information that is still digging up to what is this project? Like all these NDAs, like Monarchs has signed some side of sort of contract with Comed. Probably to again, this is what we're gonna pay you. Now, who else, who, who else is gonna uh eat up these costs? The people, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right.

Rising Utility Costs & Who Pays

SPEAKER_00 24:24

So don't be bamboozled by again them saying, hey, it's gonna bring jobs, the jobs are gonna be anywhere between 80k and 120k. It's like, okay, but what if I don't get that job, right? How much is my electric bill going to go up? And that's that was a lot of the consensus. My utility bills, life is already life for a lot of these people. So what's in it for me? How am I going to say, okay, again, if you guys have made up in your mind that you're going to push this deal, what are you doing for the people in the community to make sure that we're not carrying a lot of these expenses? Right? So, do we can we stop it? That's the first thing. Number two, what are you going to do? What's the best deal for us with them? What's in it for me? What's in it for me to be cool with this that's happening to me?

SPEAKER_03 25:17

And and then it's like, you know, I'm a I'm a fan of AI, don't get me wrong, Tiff, but I'm not, I don't expect nobody to be cool with a database in the city you stay in, you know what I'm saying? I'm not necessarily cool with it, you know what I'm saying? Because whatever affects you, gonna affect me. You, you know what I'm saying? Like, especially we didn't have conversations about respiratory issues and diseases, you know. So when it's pollutants, when it's more pollutants in the air, the air quality isn't the best already.

Health Risks & Air Quality Concerns

SPEAKER_03 25:46

So when you when you add that, when you add a uh something like a database, a data center in that city and make the air quality even worse than what it is, you know, it don't nothing good come out of that. And um man, I just I just think that we just have to do a better job as far as coming together as a people, as far as staying, staying up to date on what's happening in your city outside of uh uh just just trying to kick it and partying about shit that don't matter, you know what I'm saying? Because now this shit gonna catch you off guard simply because you ain't see it coming. Now, with the with the whole job thing, is a lot of times they would try to, as I mentioned, oh yeah, we gonna bring jobs to the area. Man, that's that's to justify them doing that shit. You know what I'm saying? They we get it's it's bringing more negative than good with them jobs. A thousand jobs ain't shit when you think about it. Think about all that.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

It's not sustainable. It's not so the sustainable stuff, we're talking about a thousand jobs just for construction to build it. Once it's built, that's gone.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

So when it's done, your job is over with.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

200, and so again, one of the gentlemen he used to work for, he was a retired, um, like worked in the AI engineering field before it was even a thing. And so he's like, I'm retired, I moved to Arizona, I'm moving back to the area. He said, you know, for me, the lack of

AI vs Quality of Life

SPEAKER_00 27:11

transparency is concerning. Right. Now if they come out and say, okay, here's the tenant that's going to be there. This is what they're proposing. Like, there's too many questions, and now we're asking all the questions trying to catch up. And for me, again, I'm wearing a shirt that says I'm your AI accountability partner. I've built part of my business to help individuals understand how to utilize and leverage AI. So I'm not coming to you as an anti-AI person, but what I will tell you is if I have to choose between my quality of life and artificial intelligence, I'm going to choose my quality of life.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

I have asked, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

I don't want to have to walk outside and hit my inhaler two to three times before I get in my car that's in a in my garage at my home. Right. If I have to make a choice, this shirt is coming off and I have I will have nothing else to do with AI, right? So and this is why I'm so passionate about it, because we talked about it with Boxtown. It's tell me the truth. Give me the information I need to make an informed decision. I live here too.

unknown 28:26

Okay.

Community Voices Being Ignored

SPEAKER_03 28:27

We got too many people that's not being blunt. That we got too many people with a with a higher authority that's not blunt enough for their position. You know what I'm saying? Like, I I feel like, or, or maybe they is, but like I I just feel like.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Well, I don't even think they do. Cute, like for real. Like the way they were saying it in this meeting, because um it was older woman, Gina Meeks, and there was another lady. She's a Winnebago County board member. Um, I have to check her name too. But the the vibe that I got, and again, they can correct me if I'm wrong, but what I got from the conversation is that they didn't know. Like they found out when the article dropped. And if that's happening, that's a problem. Right? What are we hiding? Like, again, I and again, I'm just gonna call it what it is. What are we hiding? Like, what are why can't we know some of these things? I want to know. I don't know how right, I want to know. I have respiratory issues, I'm a military veteran, right? This stuff is involved in me. So and I shouldn't have to say all that, it's just that I live here, that's enough. But if somebody sees us, what what a business is it of yours? Well, because I've paid a debt, right? When I went to the military and I've been to Iraq twice, I've paid a debt. So, yes, I want somebody to listen to me. I do, and I want to understand what's happening and how it's going to affect me.

SPEAKER_03 30:00

And also, sorry, I mean, shit, you are you good, Tim. No, you that's that we need that. That's the passion we need. Because it's like, man, you if if your residents or your people at Rockford can sit here and pay y'all taxes for y'all to be able to do the shit that y'all do, the least you can do is sit here and tell them what's happening in the city. You know what I'm saying? I think I think the the the main thing that that that got to me throughout this whole episode was the fact that he, man, Rockford has always been about innovations. But yet, every time I'm driving, I see 101 abandoned fucking buildings that y'all ain't did nothing with, but can put a data center in this motherfucker. That's in fact, that's gonna, that's gonna kill people slowly, man. You know what I'm saying? Because of the because of not only the resources, but the shit that it's putting in the air. You know what I'm saying? Like, I just think negative.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Yeah, if you leave it up to us to build the narrative and not give us the information to, again, make an informed decision on what it is, then we're going to assume, because that's what happened, there was no one in that room in favor of a data center because we did not have enough information. Like, I almost volunteered to like be on the research committee because I want to know.

unknown 31:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

I want to know. You know what I mean? So I was gonna tell them, like, hey, but then something clicked. And it wasn't because it was two things happening in my mind, right? And I still may do it, I don't know. But here's the deal what I don't want to do is waste my time on something that you've already decided that you're going to do anyway.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

Because the way this is happening, right? When I made the decision to stand 10 toes in my business queue, I wanted to bring something to Rockford because I

Is This Already Decided?

SPEAKER_00 31:51

want I did I wasn't hearing people talk about AI like this. I wasn't hearing people or seeing people standing up and saying, hey, you know what? Let's turn the chaos and confusion around AI and let's show you how to really utilize it, right? I wasn't hearing that. I wasn't hearing it. And as I got into these rooms, I still wasn't hearing it. Now it's AI this and AI that. How are you doing strategically? How are you doing it from a governance standpoint and making sure that you and your people, your customers are protected? Like that's what I'm on with the people first approach. I'm not trying to cut no jobs from anybody. I'm trying to show you how to be competitive, especially in Rockford, where we seem to be behind with a lot of stuff, right? We catch it when it's on the tail end or the who's who and the and the no-no, they know. But it's like, how do we as a unit move forward? But what stopped me was again, I've been in these streets for a year and a half, and I've gotten more traction outside of here. And it just sounded like to me, and I could be wrong. I could be wrong as a day is long, but the way this is going and the way even how the listening session was kind of it wasn't on the news. They didn't say go to the Rock Republic Library for a free session to talk about here's some of the things. It wasn't.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

That's is it that is, yeah, they they obviously wanted to keep this hidden, you know what I'm saying? And it feels that way. Yeah, it it does. And and if it wasn't for you, Tiff, I wouldn't have knew about it. It was so, it was just, it was it was it just wasn't visible, you know what I'm saying? And um I would think, honestly, this is what I'm gonna work on. Like when I sit when well when we sit down with the mayor, I want to do an in-person podcast.

Calling for Accountability (Mayor Interview Idea)

SPEAKER_03 33:39

We can even pull up to where he at. I can I can hit Pierre up and see if he's willing to show up. And I want I wanna I wanna be able to talk to him in person so I can get an understanding as far as the project and why was it kept, and why was it kept from the people at Rockford that didn't know about it, you know what I'm saying? And uh, and and it only tells me that if you knew about this project, you was you were searching for, or I don't know, some told you to search and then see exactly was I don't know, some something up here clicked, some some gears was just was just gone that that made you want to go search for that and you found exactly what you was looking for. Um and now this is just a this is a domino effect, y'all, because there's an AI boom, right? There's there's especially when there we we look at companies like OpenAI and different and different companies as well, everybody is racing to build infrastructure in certain areas of of this country. You know, South Memphis was the first, you know, uh that we talked about, then it's happening in our city. Eventually it's gonna be happening in your in your in your area as well. If not in your area, it's gonna be somewhere surrounding your area. Um and that's just what these large companies are on now. You know, it's a it's a race. And they and they

AI Expansion Is a National Trend

SPEAKER_03 34:59

wanna they want to compete and they want to be the best. And they they're willing to take whatever resources they have in order to build these infrastructures. So um, man, Tim, I think this is my fault for cutting you off.

SPEAKER_00 35:12

There will be, um, and I'm gonna say this and I'm gonna stop. There are going to be areas where you're going to be successful with keeping them out. There are going to be areas where you're not going to be successful. There was one gentleman there at the meeting, he talked about there are a lot of other areas that depend on our water sources, right? So while we're while again the focus is on Rockford and where we live, it's like, what

If It Happens… What Do We Get?

SPEAKER_00 35:37

other small towns depend on our water source, right? And that's going to be for other areas too. So if you can't, like if it's inevitable, right? If it's if it's going to happen, then what does a what does a deal, what does a lucrative deal look like that will benefit the community as well as the person? Because you're you're taking something. What are we getting in return? Right. Right. It ain't no different than being at work with them. What's in it for me? I'm always going to want to know what's in it for me. Is there going to be some kind of tax credit for my bills, right? Something to help me pay this high bill. Bills are high enough as it is. Is there going to be money set aside for people that have um predisposed like preconditions? Right? What does that look like? How are how is this deal going to help me deal with the things that come along with this project and this proposal? And I think that's

“What’s In It For Me?” Perspective

SPEAKER_00 36:36

the one thing, because I know you'll get to that. What is the one thing you want people to think about or leave with them? If this is happening to you in your community, what is the thing that's going to help you live with it if it's going to happen to you? Because you got to have two things in mind. It's if we're successful with a no, okay, cool, I can go about my day. But if this is going to happen to me, what does that need for me to look, what does it need to look like for me to protect my quality of life and my children?

SPEAKER_03 37:04

Mm-hmm. That is a fact. And uh man, appreciate you for that too. Because a lot of people, they man, y'all, we we don't hop on here for the, I mean, you obviously can hear the passion behind this shit, man, because it's happening to us right now. You know what I'm saying? I wouldn't have two months ago, I wouldn't have thought, like, oh yeah, Rockford finna, I wouldn't have thought this shit, but now that it's happening, it's kind of like, okay, this shit is frustrating. Mainly, mainly because it was kept from us. That's why I'm frustrated about it. Yeah. And I just know as as you know, when I when I inhale bad air, I know how my body reacts to it. You know what I'm saying? That's more so why I'm upset about it. And um, man, Tiv, is there is there anything you wanna you wanna add to this episode? Because I think there was obviously a lot of terms that was thrown in this episode, and for the sake of time, y'all, we're not able to really define everything. But um I feel

Turning This Into a Series

SPEAKER_03 38:02

like this can be a series of of us, you know what I'm saying, multiple episodes, and then y'all will be able to take those episodes and and put them together. You know what I'm saying? So whatever term we we spoke about in this particular episode that, you know, we did not define really, can, you know, we can go deeper in another episode as well. Um, because I feel like, you know, this is something that's going to continue to be talked about in the city of Rockford as long as you're listening to it. And then uh that would just give us that would just give us more ammo to to to create more content and talk more about uh the progress on this project with uh with maybe talking to the mayor, you know, uh for for starters, you know. So is is there anything you wanted to add to?

SPEAKER_00 38:48

I think uh I mean again, I jumped out my body. Real real like but it's just again to to know what's happening in your city and and have that contingency, right? If you get it to go, because again, AI is here. Somebody will say, Well, you're a hypocrite because you use it. You can say that. But here's the thing I've adjusted to my environment to know that okay, this is something that I need, I need to

Final Thoughts: Living With AI

SPEAKER_00 39:19

know about, just like with everybody else. I don't want it in my backyard.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

No, no.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

I also want to, if it's going to be in my backyard, then how are you gonna help me live with it being in my backyard? And I think that's the biggest thing for me, for people to understand that if this is happening to you, you have a voice, you need to understand, and I've said this from the beginning, right? How is AI going to impact you? How is it going to impact you? And what is it that you need in order to live with it? Whether it's more training, what in this case is to again, how am I how's it going to impact my pockets financially? What am I going to be responsible for and who's gonna help me with that? Right? You're asking for something from me, I need something from you. And these agreements need to keep the community front and center. It's that people first approach. I'm I don't divvy away from that, I don't shy away from that. I don't care if I'm talking to corporate, I don't care if I'm talking about it in your personal life. You need to understand what is it that you need in order to again coexist with it. So again, just I know I'm all over the place. I know I'm just really in my in my chest about this, but because it's real here.

SPEAKER_03 40:33

And and that's normal. And I want to throw this in in here, y'all, before we close out. So for y'all that like the party and shit on a Saturday night, and y'all in the club doing this shit right here, and the lights go out, and somebody says, Oh, yeah, what happened to the lights? Yeah, the data center just sucked all that shit up, but you shut the party down. You know what I'm saying? Y'all, y'all would have, you know what I'm saying, like the power grid is at risk. You know what I'm saying? That's what I'm saying. Like it, there's like

Power Grid Risks Explained

SPEAKER_03 41:01

the amount of electricity. It's uh yeah, yeah, it is. It's like, man, the amount of the electricity, that's that's 1,000 megawatts. Uh 1,000 megawatts, right? That's enough electricity to power a small city. That's a, you know what I'm saying? That's that's a lot of power, you know. So we got to think about all this stuff, y'all. So um I think it'd be a good idea for me and Tiff to make this a series just to touch on things that we weren't able to get into.

Closing Message

SPEAKER_03 41:31

And then uh we just just make it an interesting conversation, y'all. This is something that's that's very important to stay on top of. Um, I know we we are AI advocates, especially Tiff. She she teaches people how to use AI in the correct way to make their businesses more efficient. Um, but also, like, like she says, it also has downsides, and we have to be aware of that. So uh make sure y'all follow follow Tiff. Information is in will be in the uh uh description. My information will be in the description as well. Make sure y'all give us a follow on YouTube, uh follow us on IG as well. Stay up to date on content. We've been doing pretty pretty well with dropping consistently uh every week. You know, so uh without that being said, y'all, life is good, life is wonderful. Be blessed to be alive. Self sufficiency is how you survive. To the kings and queens, to the guys and goddess, forever in always thinks successfully.