Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman to AI companies: As an industry, you are doing a terrible job of ...

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman believes the AI industry is struggling to win over the public on the importance of data centres. Speaking on the “20VC” podcast, Feldman said AI companies are “doing a terrible job” of explaining how large computing facilities can benefit local communities. Feldman said the industry needs to change how it approaches towns and cities where AI infrastructure is being built, arguing that data centres should create local value rather than become a burden on public resources.“These can be clean, they can make jobs, they can be good for communities. We can do this thoughtfully,” Feldman highlighted. The chief executive of the AI hardware maker said that companies should invest directly in local development projects alongside the construction of AI facilities.“There's no reason why we can't add these to communities and have the community benefit from it. And we have to do some thinking. We have all the heavy equipment out there —build a football field for the local school, build a school, add a church or a synagogue to the community. We can be good neighbours at very, very low cost,” he added.Feldman also criticised AI and technology companies that rely on local governments or taxpayers to absorb infrastructure-related costs. In an email to Business Insider, Feldman wrote, “In some cases, they tried to pawn off costs on the local community or use outdated financial arrangements that left the community holding the bag. And in others, they were wasteful of resources. This is not cool. And none of this needs to be the case.”He added that AI companies should focus on reducing water consumption through closed-loop facilities, particularly as more data centres are being built in water-stressed regions across the US. Feldman pointed to Brad Smith and Microsoft’s “Building Community-First AI Infrastructure” plan as an example of how the industry should communicate its expansion efforts. Smith’s framework includes commitments to reduce water use, pay infrastructure costs directly, create jobs, and partner with local organisations for workforce training.“Whether it was canals, railroads, the electrical grid, or the interstate highway system, each era produced its own conflicts over who bore the burdens of progress. One enduring lesson is that successful infrastructure buildouts will only progress when communities feel that the gains outweigh the costs,” Smith earlier suggested.Feldman also addressed concerns around AI-related layoffs, saying many recent workforce reductions were not directly caused by AI itself.“I think to date, most of the layoffs were 'AI-washed. They were because we did boneheaded hiring during COVID. It is actually because a great deal of productivity gains have occurred over the years that we're just now harvesting,” Feldman added.At the same time, he said companies that fail to adopt AI-driven productivity improvements risk falling behind competitors. Feldman added that Cerebras is continuing to expand hiring for engineering roles.“If you are an engineering organisation that can't see how to take advantage of vastly more productive engineers, I don't think you're long for this world. I mean, the list of things I want our engineers to do is 50 times as long as we have engineers,” he added.