Arizona’s Digital New Deal

A Smart Future for Southern Arizona

WE HAVE WHAT OTHERS WANT

When people think of Arizona, they picture desert, farms, and small towns. But we are also becoming a leader in new technology. That is good news for places like Cochise, Graham, and Santa Cruz counties.

Big tech companies want to build giant computer centers here. They see our open land and sunny skies. But there is a problem. Their computers use huge amounts of electricity and water. In the desert, those are two things we cannot waste.

We have a choice. We can let outside companies build whatever they want, use up our resources, and leave us with the problems. Or we can build something smarter—something that works for us.

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THE PROBLEM

Most computers today waste a lot of energy. They get hot, so they need massive cooling systems that use millions of gallons of water. In fact, one large computer center can use as much water as a small town.

The programs they run are also wasteful. For the past twenty years, software developers have acted like computers have unlimited power. They write bloated programs that do more work than needed. This is like driving a big truck to go get the mail.

All of this waste costs us:

  • It strains our power grid.

  • It pulls water from our aquifers.

  • It benefits companies that do not live here, pay taxes here, or answer to us.

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BETTER WAYS ARE COMING

New kinds of computers are being built right here in Arizona. These computers use light instead of electricity to move data. It works like fiber optic internet, but inside the computer itself.

These new computers have three big benefits:

  • They use 75 to 95 percent less power than traditional computers.

  • They use almost no water for cooling.

  • They stay cool, eliminating the need for massive cooling systems.

A computer center that now needs 100 megawatts of power—enough for about 75,000 homes—could one day run on just 5 megawatts. The water savings are even bigger.

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ARIZONA IS ALREADY BUILDING THIS

We are not waiting for this technology to show up. It is already here.

  • In Tempe, Quantum Computing Inc. runs a factory making light-based computer chips.

  • In Tucson, the University of Arizona’s new cleanroom where students learn to make them.

  • Local companies like Lawrence Semiconductor supply the specialized materials.

We have the factories, the universities, and the people. What we need now is the will to make sure this technology serves us first.

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THE DANGERS

Big tech companies have spent billions on the old kind of computers. They do not want to switch to something new because that would make their old investments worthless. They are powerful enough to buy up new technologies just to shut them down. They can build so much of the old stuff that there is no room left for the new.

But there is an even bigger danger: monopoly. These companies want to control all the computing power so they can charge whatever they want.

If a small group of companies controls all the computing power, there is no competition to keep prices fair. They raise prices until only well-funded startups with venture capital can afford to compete. In that world:

  • A regular person with a good idea has no chance.

  • A small business trying to grow gets locked out.

  • A student with a dream cannot afford to build it.

We have seen this happen with internet access. Where one company controls the only high-speed lines, prices are high and service is bad. The same will happen with computing power if we let it. We do not have to let that future happen.

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ARIZONA’S DIGITAL NEW DEAL

We can build our own future. That is what Arizona’s Digital New Deal is about. It is about using the tools we have—our sunshine, our universities, our factories, our people—to create something that belongs to Arizona.

Here is what the Digital New Deal would do, laid out in the order we need to build it.

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STEP ONE: UNDERSTAND THE OPPORTUNITY

Arizona already has the factories, the universities, the skilled people, the sun, and the need to protect our water. A smart future for southern Arizona means:

  • Jobs that let our young people stay here.

  • Training at community colleges so students get skills without leaving home.

  • Protecting our aquifers for farms and families.

  • Independence from out-of-state corporations and foreign oil.

This vision works in harmony with the rural way of life. For those who choose to live simply, it does not force change. It simply offers more:

  • Resiliency, so you are not left in the dark when the grid falters.

  • Connectivity, so you can stay in touch, access telehealth, and run a business from your land.

  • Access to markets, so you can sell your goods without driving hours to find a buyer.

  • Assistive technologies, so you can stay on your land longer and manage your operation with less strain.

We start by telling this story and building the understanding that we can build our own future.

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STEP TWO: PASS LAWS TO REIN IN BIG TECH MONOPOLIES AND PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

Before we build anything new, we have to clear the path. Big tech companies are racing to lock up power, water, and land. They buy up competitors to kill innovation and write contracts that strip away our rights.

We need strong antitrust and consumer protection laws that:

  • Break up monopolies and oligopolies.

  • Ban the practice of buying up competitors to kill innovation.

  • End exploitative contracts and hidden fees.

We also need to protect our environment from reckless development. Companies will drop data centers on farmland, suck up aquifers, and leave when tax breaks run out. We need laws that require:

  • Environmental reviews before any major facility gets built.

  • Water usage caps that protect our aquifers.

  • Community benefit agreements so our towns get something in return.

When we control the capital and the infrastructure, we create the jobs that serve our communities. We are not reduced to following the robber barons around begging to shine their shoes for a penny. We set the terms.

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STEP THREE: BUILD SOLAR WHERE IT MAKES SENSE

We do not have to cover farmland with solar panels. We can put them in places that make sense:

  • Parking lots.

  • Canals.

  • Rooftops.

  • Roads

  • Sidewalks

  • Playgrounds

We build batteries to store power. This protects our farms, creates local jobs, and gives us the cheap, abundant energy we need for everything that comes next. Combined with new heat reflecting paints and coatings we can massively reduce the energy drain from cooling our living and working spaces while making outdoor areas more comfortable for outdoor family and community activities.

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STEP FOUR: USE LOCAL CO-OPS TO OWN THE INFRASTRUCTURE

As we build solar, we make sure ownership stays local. Electric co-ops already bring power to rural Arizona. Water districts already manage our most precious resource. We can do the same with computing centers, solar installations, water treatment plants, and charging networks.

We create a state-level infrastructure authority that can charter member-owned co-ops. When local people own something:

  • They take care of it.

  • It serves local needs, not out-of-state shareholders.

  • The profits and jobs stay here.

  • The decisions get made here.

We are not waiting for some billionaire to decide whether our town gets good internet or reliable power. We build it ourselves. We own it ourselves.

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STEP FIVE: BUILD COMPUTER POWER LIKE WE BUILD ROADS

With clean energy and local ownership in place, we build computing centers. But we do not let a single company own them. We treat advanced computing capacity as public infrastructure.

Just like we built highways to connect every town, we build computing centers that serve everyone:

  • A student in Safford has the same access as a corporation in Phoenix.

  • A rancher in Willcox can use the same powerful tools as a tech company.

  • A small business owner in Douglas can compete on a level playing field.

We require these centers to use the most efficient technology available—technology that Arizona is already building. No more water-hungry facilities in the desert.

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STEP SIX: USE THE POWER TO MAKE MORE WATER

With clean energy and efficient computing centers that use almost no water, we turn to water security. We use our abundant power to:

  • Run treatment plants that clean up contaminated water.

  • Build desalination plants that turn salty water into drinking water.

  • Recycle every drop we can.

We can sell this technology to our neighbors. Water is our most critical resource. The Digital New Deal treats it that way.

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STEP SEVEN: TEACH OUR KIDS TO WRITE SMARTER PROGRAMS

Our universities and community colleges are already doing cutting-edge research in photonics and quantum computing. We expand that work and teach students how to write programs that do more with less. A program written efficiently can use 25 percent less power. Sometimes even less.

We fund our research and training programs so Arizonans fill the jobs these new industries create. When we build new facilities, the jobs go to the people who live here.

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STEP EIGHT: BUILD SUPER FAST AND EFFICIENT ELECTRIC PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

When we have more clean power than we need, we rethink how we move. We build:

  • Light rail.

  • High-speed buses on dedicated lanes.

  • Electric shuttles connecting small towns to each other and to larger cities.

  • Charging networks that make it easy to get around without owning a car.

  • Good public transit means:

  • We replace heat-absorbing parking lots with shade trees, community gardens, or housing.

  • We spend less on road expansions and repairs.

  • The cost of living goes down. Families do not need two or three cars. Young people get to work without a car payment. Seniors stay independent.

When we build with clean energy:

  • We are not at the mercy of distant wars or oil companies.

  • We make our own fuel from the sun.

  • We keep jobs and money here.

  • Our towns are quieter, cooler, and safer.

Building electric transportation is about independence, security, and lowering the cost of living for every family.

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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA

For Douglas, Sierra Vista, Benson, Willcox, Bisbee, and Nogales, this vision means real opportunity.

Jobs

Permanent, good-paying jobs working with computers, maintaining equipment, teaching, building vehicles, running transit, and managing co-ops. Jobs that let our young people stay here.

Training

Community colleges can train local people. Students get skills without leaving home. Our region becomes a leader in manufacturing, computing, and transit.

Water

Efficient computer centers protect our aquifers for farms and families. We do not have to choose between the needs of the people, industry, and agriculture.

Cooler Towns

Replacing parking lots and providing shade with solar cells and building transit makes towns cooler. Lower electric bills. Kids can play outside safely.

Lower Cost of Living

Fewer cars means less money on gas, insurance, and repairs. Less road spending means lower taxes. Families keep more of what they earn. Abundant locally generated electricity and efficient transportation and cargo infrastructure means cost savings throughout the economy.

Resiliency and Freedom

For those who choose the rural way of life, this vision does not ask you to change. It gives you more tools to live the way you want: reliable power when the grid goes down, high-speed internet without leaving your land, access to markets without driving for hours, and assistive technologies to keep doing the work you love.

Independence

When we own our infrastructure, we make our own decisions. We are not at the mercy of distant corporations or oil cartels. When they have problems, we do not suffer. When they raise prices, we do not pay.

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THE CHOICE IS OURS

We are not against technology. We are for technology that fits our home.

We have the sun, the land, the universities, the factories, and smart people who know how to build things.

What we need now is the will to build it our way:

  • Pass laws that protect our water and power.

  • Take on the monopolies that want to control our future.

  • Invest in our schools and training programs.

  • Create member-owned co-ops that answer to local people.

  • Build transportation that frees us from the costs of car dependency.

  • Ensure every part of this vision works in harmony with rural life—giving those who choose it more resiliency, connectivity, market access, and assistive technologies.

When we control the capital and the infrastructure, we create jobs that serve our communities. We are not reduced to following the robber barons around begging to shine their shoes for a penny. We set the terms. We decide what gets built, where it gets built, and who it serves.

We did this before:

  • Rural electrification brought power to every farm in America.

  • The interstate highway system connected every small town to the rest of the country.

We can do it again. This time with computers, clean energy, transit that puts people first, and laws that keep the benefits here. This time in a way that makes sense for the desert and honors the rural way of life that makes this place home.

The future is being built right now. The only question is whether we will help build it, or just watch it get built for somebody else's benefit while we struggle to find a niche in a world not built for us.