LibertyCon 38

Artificial intelligence may feel weightless, but the machines behind it are anything but invisible to the engineers who power them. This presentation explores the growing collision between hyperscale AI, massive data centers, electrical infrastructure, cooling systems, and the future of civilization-scale computation. Drawing from both real-world power-system engineering and decades of science fiction—from H. G. Wells and Isaac Asimov to William Gibson and Neal Stephenson—the discussion examines how the “cloud” is actually built from transformers, transmission lines, power electronics, and thermodynamics. The future may not be powered by magic, but by megawatts, cooling water, and infrastructure operating at planetary scale.