We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Good Future Foundation and its AI summer school students to our Farnborough campus for a look at the physical infrastructure behind digital technologies. The students were able to see first-hand the scale, engineering and operational discipline behind modern digital services, from power and cooling to connectivity, security and resilience.
Bringing digital infrastructure to life for AI summer school students
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The visit
The infrastructure powering our digital world
The group, made up of students aged 14 to 17, visited Datum as part of a fully-funded residential programme focused on the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. For many young people, AI, digital technologies, and the mythical ‘cloud’ can feel almost invisible – a chatbot, a screen, a tool that responds instantly – when, really, all of these are powered by data centres, their systems, engineering and people, that store, process and move the data behind the online services we use every day.
The tour took students across both live and developing parts of the site, including FRN2 (our second Farnborough data centre, which is currently under construction) and FRN1 (our flagship data centre that was launched in 2013). Along the way, the groups explored key areas including the HV compound, transformers, diesel tanks, energy centre, incoming fibre routes, security and entrance areas, meet me rooms, the cooling corridor and the data halls.
For students learning about the opportunities and challenges of AI, this was an important part of the picture. AI depends on highly engineered physical environments – servers need power, power systems need resilience, equipment needs cooling, data needs secure, reliable routes in and out – every digital interaction has a real-world footprint.
That context is especially important at a time when AI is moving quickly and conversations about its impact can become polarised. The Good Future Foundation is doing valuable work in helping young people and educators engage with AI thoughtfully, critically and constructively, rather than approaching it with fear or hype alone.
About Good Future Foundation
Good Future Foundation is a UK-registered charity helping schools respond to the opportunities and challenges of AI. Its work is free for schools and shaped by the needs of educators, not commercial interests.
Through its AI Quality Mark, in-person professional development and online educator community, the foundation supports schools in building genuine confidence around responsible AI implementation.
Its AI summer school brings together young people for an intensive week of learning, combining workshops, collaborative projects and direct industry engagement. The aim is to equip students to become informed critical thinkers and future builders, not simply future consumers of AI.
To help bring the tour to life, the students were split into three groups and each completed a sticky note challenge. They were asked to write down either something that had surprised them most during the tour so far, or a question they still had about data centres, AI infrastructure and the systems behind the technology they use every day.
The questions and observations from the students were thoughtful, curious and wide-ranging. We will be reviewing and responding to some of them soon, so watch this space…
Building understanding through real-world experience
Responsible AI education is not just about understanding what AI can do; it is also about understanding the systems, resources and decisions that sit behind it, so we were pleased to support the programme by giving students a practical look at how data centres operate and why they matter.
By seeing the physical scale of data centre infrastructure, including the energy, cooling, security and connectivity involved, students gained a more grounded view of what AI requires and the responsibilities that come with its continued growth.
We are grateful to the Good Future Foundation for bringing such an engaged group of students to our Farnborough site, and for the important work it is doing to help schools explore the ethical use of AI. As a technological revolution already reshaping our lives, AI requires useful, considered discussion. Too often, the topic can polarise views and lead to debate that is less constructive than it should be. The Foundation’s work plays an important role in helping young people and educators engage with AI thoughtfully, critically and with confidence.