The Provo City Council voted unanimously against a zoning reclassification during their regular meeting on March 10 that permitted Timpanogos Tech Center to develop a data center in East Bay.

Timpanogos Tech Center presented its proposal for an amendment changing the zone classification for its property on 1507 S. 1100 E. from planned industrial commercial to a planned industrial data center overlay zone. This zoning reclassification would allow them to develop a five megawatt data center with the potential to grow into a 50 megawatt center.

The city gave time for citizens of Provo to express their concerns on the prospective new center, all voicing their worries for both the environmental and the economic impact it would have in the area.

Many citizens urged the council to delay considering the center until after the city-wide development economic plan is complete.

"I'm not anti-technology," Angie Carter, 3rd district neighborhood chair, said. Decisions about energy use, land use and city priorities require more time and analysis so we can move forward proactively.

Other locals with experience living near data centers spoke up against allowing the zoning change.

"I actually grew up in Virginia, and as a former resident of the state with 15% of the data centers in the U.S," Seth Draper said. "I just want to really implore you all not to do it.

Draper explained that it led to his hometown in Virginia to see a lower quality of life and increase in utility bills.

In response to concerned citizens, representing Timpanogos Tech Center, Stephen Styler explained it is not their intent to disrupt the way of living in Provo and that they have spent the past year addressing these concerns that are often associated with data center projects.

Weve been working with Provo City for about a year to look through how we might build out this project," Styler said. If we come in and we disrupt air quality, we disrupt water conservation efforts, we disrupt power, we havent done our job because thats not what this is about.

After hearing from citizens on the developer, the city council weighed their decision to be in favor of caution and to wait for their economic development study to end. It will be finalized in late spring.

"We're in the middle of trying to create this economic development study and trying to come up with a vision for the area of East Bay," Rachel Whipple, councilwoman for Provo, said. "Let's be cautious here and make sure we're not approving something that we regret."

Timpanogos Tech Center had no comment on the decision of the city council.

Mayor Marsha Judkins expressed her approval of the city council's decision.

"The developer gave it their best shot," Judkins said. "I think we just need to move cautiously and ask what will be best for Provo."

The vote came up 7 to 0, with each member of the city council voting against the zoning change.

Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly common for college students, but opinions about how the technology should be used vary widely.

Some students are optimistic about the role AI could play in the future, while others are wary.

Cooper Anderson, a pre-business major and member of Brigham Young University's AI in Business Society, shared his thoughts on the positives of AI.

For me personally, I consider myself an AI opportunist, meaning the opportunity is way greater than the risk, Anderson said.

When asked about potential ethical concerns surrounding AI, Anderson said he believes its use ultimately comes down to personal responsibility.

Obviously, AI is a tool a gun could be used for good things and it could be used for terrible things as well I think in the end its really up to the user, Anderson said.

However, not everyone believes AI should be adopted so quickly.

Critics say the technology raises major ethical concerns, particularly around copyright and ownership of information.

Use of AI cannot currently be ethical because there is not legislation surrounding copyright. There is not proper legislation to what is yours that AI generates and what isn't. And until such things are created, until such laws and policies are created, it is not ethical, said Truman Barnes-Owens, a theatre arts education major at BYU.

Barnes-Owens also pointed to environmental concerns surrounding the widespread use of AI, particularly the large data centers required to power the technology.

AI is not environmentally sustainable. And in certain countries, it is more environmentally sustainable," Barnes-Owens said.

He cited Google's AI as an example of this.

"Google's AI, for example, in Finland, they get 90% of their energy only from solar, and they use only recycled water to refresh their data centers. But because of the global nature of everything, it still can't be reliably used in any one place, Barnes-Owens said.

Other students take a more middle-of-the-road approach, saying AI can be useful but should not be fully trusted.

Eldon Perkins, an engineering major at BYU, said one of the biggest challenges with artificial intelligence is that it can produce incorrect information while sounding completely confident.

When you ask AI a question or give it a task to do, it will provide an answer, and it is trained to respond very confidently. But whether or not it responds confidently is not correlated with whether or not it is correct, Perkins said.

Robert Walz, a BYU ethics professor, shared his thoughts on AI in education.

I think you're disadvantaging students when you tell them not to learn how to use the tools of artificial intelligence, because that's their future, he said.

Walz argued that rapid technological change has made it difficult for universities to determine what students should be learning right now.

If you look back historically, people who do not embrace new technology are socially or economically disadvantaged. I think the biggest problem that we have in academia is that we don't know what to teach you right now, because nobody knows what the landscape is going to be five years from now, Walz said.

As AI technology continues to evolve, conversations about its ethical use are likely to remain a topic of discussion on college campuses.

Provo City's planning commission approved plans for a new data center in East Bay, moving forward with a recommendation to the city council for final approval.

The Timpanogos Tech Center presented a proposal for the new data center, which consisted of a two-story, 132,000-square-foot facility on a 7.29-acre plot in East Bay. The project would begin as a 5-megawatt data center with potential to scale up to 50 megawatts, using closed-loop cooling to limit water consumption and purchasing power directly from Provo Power, operating independent of Provo's power grid.

Many concerns were brought up by both planning commission members and citizens attending the meeting, addressing power demand, water usage and long-term economic impacts. The applicants of the data center addressed these concerns.

Tad Smallcomb, engineering manager from Provo City Power, clarified to the committee that the facility would enter into a negotiated power purchase agreement to protect both power rates and load on the system.

"They pay for everything," Smallcomb said, referring to the data center property owners. "We anticipated building all new facilities for service to this facility."

The data center will require new substations to be developed, but will not come from the property owner's expense, nor from the taxpayers or Provo Power itself.

The location is planned to include generators, but according to proposal documents, the property owner will be in a development agreement that they will be used for back-up power only and not for on-site power generation.

Aside from power, the other main concern with the new data center was water consumption. "We have a lot of people who are worried about the water consumption that comes with cooling," city planning commissioner Lisa Jensen said.

Applicant for the data center, Stephen Styler, explained that their closed-loop system will prevent them from being a large water consumer, using water for nothing more than just culinary and employee facilities.

"We don't want to be a large water consumer," Styler said. "If we are a large water consumer, then we have problems."

Styler explained they are looking into an agreement to purchase silver water, a type of water waste produced at Provo's water treatment facility, to use as the water in their closed-loop cooling system. This deal is still in discussion with Provo's public works department.

After much clarification from the applicants, there still remained concerns over the long-term economic impact that the data center would have.

Commissioner Joel Temple expressed his concern over the lack of employment opportunities that would be created by the data center and questioned whether it is the best use for the land.

"What does this bring to Provo?" Temple asked. "We're talking 20 or 30 (jobs), maybe a little more ... I guess I'm not seeing this as the highest and best use."

Provo citizens in attendance express similar concerns, questioning both economic output and location.

"I can't help but think that Provo is giving up a lot for a little," said Angie Carter, chair of Provo's east neighborhood district.

In the session, a letter from Mayor Marsha Judkins was mentioned, weighing in her position on data center development in East Bay.

"Data centers generate very few permanent jobs, provide limited wage growth, and contribute minimal ongoing economic activity," Judkins said. "East Bay represents one of the most significant opportunities for future economic redevelopment ... it would be premature to commit this centrally located site to a use that does not align with these objectives."

The committee voted unanimously, approving the plans presented for the data center, but voted 5-2 in recommendation for rezoning, with Temple suggesting waiting for the mayor's economic development plan to be finalized this spring before giving final approval.

Other members of the committee expressed their optimism for the newly approved plans.

Commissioner Matthew Wheelwright gave it a "huge yes," expressing he was eager to replace vacant office building lots currently found in East Bay.

"There are so many vacant buildings, let's get going ... waiting is not useful for what it brings and what it adds," Wheelwright said. "I'm in support, I think this is a great addition to a community."

The data center plans will be reviewed by Provo's city council and will be considered for a vote during its next meeting, March 10.