Meta CEO writes of ‘positive AI future’ as Cheyenne mayor touts $1B investment

ALYSSA TOLMAN

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

CHEYENNE — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Monday his intention to start a new Future is for Everyone Fund, which aims to invest in communities where Meta is operating a data center, Cheyenne included.

Zuckerberg published a long-form piece Monday titled “The Future is for Everyone: The Path to a Positive AI Future,” which was sent to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle via email the same day.

In the essay, Zuckerberg lays out his vision for a world where personal superintelligence is available to everyone. It revolves around Meta’s philosophy that “individual empowerment is the source of prosperity, invention (not automation) is the primary purpose of AI, checks and balances are the foundation for safety, and everyone should stand to benefit.”

Under a section titled “Building AI Infrastructure with Communities,” Zuckerberg writes that sustainable infrastructure development must significantly benefit the community it is located in, which includes creating high-paying jobs for locals, investment in schools and public services, ensuring energy prices don’t rise and taking care of the environment.

He states that as tax revenue grows, the developments benefit law enforcement, fire departments, teachers and more.

This, he writes, is what led him to create the Future is for Everyone Fund.

“We see that communities we invest in over the long term are more supportive of development than communities where speculators start building with minimal investment in the community,” Zuckerberg wrote.

“Historically, towns and cities that brought railroads, highways, electrification and broadband became centers of research, business and industry, with population and economic growth that follow,” he continued. “We believe AI infrastructure can play a similar role if it is built with strong (local benefits) that build durable assets and reasons for the next generation to build and grow their lives there.”

He pointed to a recent community benefit in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where Meta is building a large data center, that resulted in local teachers receiving a $50,000 bonus this year due to the increased tax revenue.

In an email sent to the WTE Monday from Meta, Wyoming spokesperson Karen Mason, Mason details how Meta has previously used its revenue locally in Cheyenne.

A photo illustration depicting Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a portion of his recently published long-form piece titled “The Future is for Everyone: The Path to a Positive AI Future,” and a rendering of the Meta data center in Cheyenne is shown. Zuckerberg announced in his essay a new fund that aims to invest in communities where Meta is building or operating a data center.

ALYSSA TOLMAN/WYOMING TRIBUNE EAGLE

She states that in partnership with the city of Cheyenne and Casper-based company Frog Creek Partners, Meta helped fund the installation of 180 Gutter Bin stormwater filtration devices to help revive Cheyenne’s Crow Creek.

“These investments build on our commitment to communities across Cheyenne, including Meta’s existing program that has provided $75 million across 3,000 projects to support local schools and nonprofits in communities where we have data centers or data center projects,” Mason wrote in the email. “… (The Crow Creek) project improves local water quality by capturing pollutants before they reach the creek, benefiting both the local ecosystem and the community.”

According to the Frog Creek Partners website, the devices are designed to capture trash, microplastics, sediment, oils, greases and heavy metals inside catch basin storm drains before pollutants reach local waterways.

Mayor Patrick Collins told the WTE Monday that the Crow Creek project has been ongoing for many years. He said he thinks it began before Meta started building its data center in the city, and there are now over 300 devices installed in the creek.

Collins said he also spoke to a Meta representative Monday, who told him the company is planning to invest $1 billion in each community where Meta is currently operating a data center.

The money will go toward schools, water, power and public safety, Collins said.

“Obviously there will be other things they can do,” Collins said. “I learned that they have 28 data centers in 23 states, and so we’re one of those. So it looks like there might be a significant opportunity for Cheyenne to be one of those 28 data centers to get some funding for some very necessary projects.”

Other than the newly created fund, Zuckerberg wrote about other community benefits Meta has accomplished or plans to accomplish in the future.

One of these is Meta’s America’s Workforce Academy, which provides free training for skilled tradespeople and guaranteed high-paying jobs in the areas Meta is building data centers.

Additionally, Zuckerberg wrote that Meta always builds its own energy-generating infrastructure wherever it invests, as well as building “the most water-efficient” data centers “in the world.”

Zuckerberg said Meta is “committed to being water positive,” meaning the company will restore more water than it uses in the watersheds where it operates by 2030. In areas with high water stress, he said the goal is to restore 200% of the water Meta uses.

“Humanity has witnessed many transformative advances,” Zuckerberg said. “Each time there is fear that people will be left behind. But each time humanity has come out with more people sharing greater prosperity, health and freedom. We believe this will be true with AI as well, and the abundance of the future can be shared by everyone.”

Alyssa Tolman is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s local government/business reporter. She can be reached at 307-6333167 or atolman@wyomingnews.com.