If we consider the summer of 1956 as the official birthdate of the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), then AI is celebrating a remarkable birthday with new developments aimed at ensuring its relevance for decades to come.
Google has announced plans to construct a $9-billion data center campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which will double the capacity of its existing facility in Pryor.
Additionally, the tech giant is investing $1 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) education across 100 universities, with the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University part of the first cohort of the Google AI for Education Accelerator that launched last week.
The Google AI for Education Accelerator aims to empower students with AI skills through free access to industry-recognized career certificates, AI training, and Google's most advanced AI tools
Observers also note that Oklahoma boasts some of the lowest electricity rates in the United States, a crucial factor for energy-intensive AI operations.
Google is also providing funding to support apprenticeships run by an electrical training alliance to increase the electrical workforce pipeline in Oklahoma by 135%, helping develop the labor force needed to build new energy infrastructure.
On LinkedIn, Stanley (Chege) Thuita, founder of Altradits, a social media agency in Kenya, asked whether we are witnessing the emergence of America's AI Belt.
Analysts highlight that Oklahoma's central location provides a geographic advantage, ensuring optimal latency for serving both the East and West Coasts.
Furthermore, the partnership with universities fosters a sustainable model for workforce development, and AI infrastructure is becoming as essential as highways and airports were in the 20th century.
With an increasing number of opportunities in emerging AI hubs, talent analysts are encouraging new graduates to explore prospects in these regions.
Business owners should also consider the implications of AI infrastructure on their operations, as companies and areas that control AI resources will play a significant role in driving economic growth in the coming decade.
In related news, Oracle has announced that it has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to offer Google's most advanced AI models, starting with Gemini 2.5.
Customers can now utilize the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure's Generative AI service to harness the latest Gemini models for building AI agents.
These agents can assist with advanced coding and software development tasks, automate productivity and workflows, and improve research and knowledge retrieval, as well as multimodal understanding.
According to the press release, Oracle plans to integrate new features with Vertex AI, including models for video, image, speech, and specialized industry applications like MedLM in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, stated that leading enterprises are using Gemini to power AI agents across various use cases and industries.
Now, Oracle customers can access these top models within their environments, simplifying the deployment of powerful AI agents that support developers, streamline data integration tasks, and more.
Oracle's approach brings AI technology closer to enterprise data, helping customers across various industries apply the most appropriate AI technologies—both generative and agentic—to relevant business scenarios.
Google's Gemini models excel in enterprise use cases, thanks to their ability to provide accurate responses grounded in up-to-date Google Search data, large context windows, data encryption, privacy policies, and reasoning capabilities.
Technology analysts suggest that Oracle's partnership with Google's Gemini models signifies a strategic platform shift, offering enterprises more AI options.
However, success will rely on effective integration and support.
Furthermore, experts believe that with Google's $9 billion investment in a new data center and the launch of education and workforce programs to train the next generation of tech talent, this substantial investment goes beyond expanding AI and cloud capabilities; it aims to create jobs, strengthen educational institutions, and position key hubs for technology.