Students investigate the true cost of technological advancement by designing an integrated data center that fits ecologically, aesthetically, and culturally within a specific community while examining how generative AI is changing writing, research, and public decision-making. Through QFT cycles, close reading, community stakeholder collaboration, design research, and structured revision, they develop a formal white paper, campaign materials, and a stakeholder briefing that argue for responsible design choices and ethical AI use. The work positions students as writers, researchers, designers, and informed digital citizens who weigh evidence, consider who benefits and who is harmed, and communicate persuasively to real audiences. Across eight weeks, they build a portfolio that documents how their questions, sources, claims, designs, and revisions evolve into a polished public exhibit and community-facing presentation.

Students will use QFT to generate, sort, and refine researchable questions about how data centers can be designed to fit ecologically, aesthetically, and culturally within a community, while also examining the environmental and ethical costs of digital infrastructure and generative AI. They will evaluate and synthesize information from readings, discussions, interviews, site and stakeholder research, and model texts by analyzing credibility, bias, community perspectives, and tradeoffs related to labor, privacy, misinformation, resource use, and sustainability. Students will compose, revise, and present a formal white paper, source-to-claim evidence map, reflective cover letter, campaign materials, and stakeholder briefing that show clear argumentation, ethical reasoning, effective communication, and documented growth across drafts. They will also strengthen collaboration, self-directed learning, and digital citizenship by responding to SWOC feedback, reflecting on AI use and revision choices, and explaining how their design and advocacy work addresses real community needs.

Students will create a design portfolio that includes QFT question sets, annotated sources, stakeholder interview notes, ecological and community research, design sketches or CAD iterations, campaign drafts, research reflections, a SWOC revision tracker, and a source-to-claim evidence map connecting evidence to each major decision and argument. The culminating product is a polished white paper for a real stakeholder audience, paired with a reflective cover letter that explains the proposed integrated data center design, its ecological, cultural, and ethical impacts, the drafting and revision process, AI use, and growth as a writer and digital citizen. Students will also produce a stakeholder briefing deck with a short oral panel pitch that summarizes their design proposal, strongest evidence, ethical concerns, and recommended next steps for school or community partners. For exhibition, teams will create a public-facing campaign that may include posters, social media content, a website, or video assets, along with an AI impact showcase poster or digital exhibit presenting their final argument, evidence map, design process, and revision journey for families, staff, and community members.

Open with an Ethics Scenario Studio that blends the data center challenge with AI ethics: students rotate through case cards, site photos/maps, energy-water-use data, community profiles, and AI-generated versus human-written planning texts about privacy, labor, misinformation, environmental cost, and cultural fit, then use QFT to generate and sort research questions. Next, run a stakeholder simulation in which teams represent residents, tribal or cultural leaders, environmental advocates, school leaders, tech workers, or local officials and respond to a proposed data center plan, naming what each group could gain, lose, or contest. Reveal the final public work—a white paper, stakeholder briefing, and community showcase—and have teams select a likely audience or partner they want to inform or persuade over the unit. Close with a brief written reflection on the true cost of technological advancement, how AI may shape their research and writing process ethically, and what they most need to investigate first.

Host a community Data Center Design and Ethics Expo where teams present their integrated proposals through a white paper, stakeholder briefing deck, campaign materials, and a visual display showing how ecological impact, community identity, labor, privacy, and AI-related communication choices shaped their design. Structure the event as a pitch night plus gallery walk for families, local officials, librarians, environmental groups, technology professionals, and neighborhood stakeholders, with live Q&A about evidence, ethical tradeoffs, revision decisions, and responsible AI use in the writing process. Include interactive feedback stations where visitors respond to source-to-claim evidence maps, design renderings, and revision trackers, then offer recommendations teams can use in a final reflection or post-event update. Archive the final briefs, posters, campaign pieces, and selected recordings on a school or community platform so the work remains accessible to authentic audiences beyond the exhibition.