Tennessee's Big Bet on Data: Why the Future is Here

Data is everywhere, and it's growing at an incredible pace. In 2024, the world created, copied, or consumed about 149 zettabytes of data. To put that into perspective, one gigabyte can hold around 200 songs or 30 minutes of HD video. Now, imagine multiplying that by 149 trillion. That's the amount of data we generated in just one year. And get this: over 90% of all data has been created in just the past two years. The data boom is real, and it's happening fast. But who's going to make sense of all this data? That's where data scientists come in. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment for data scientists will grow by 34% between 2024 and 2034. That's a lot of job openings—more than 23, 000 each year, with a median annual salary exceeding $112, 000. In Tennessee, data-oriented roles are among the fastest-growing career fields. It's clear that data is the new oil, and those who can refine it will be the ones driving progress. Artificial intelligence is at the heart of this data revolution. AI systems need massive, diverse, and trustworthy data sets to learn, adapt, and generate insights. These insights drive decisions in healthcare, finance, logistics, cybersecurity, manufacturing, entertainment, agriculture, energy, national defense, and urban planning. But data alone isn't enough. We need people who can gather, store, access, verify, interpret, and communicate data responsibly. That means blending applied computing with curiosity, analytics with storytelling, technology with ethics, and logic with human judgment. Tennessee is stepping up to the plate. The Oak Ridge Reservation has been designated for new AI data center development. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides one of the most resilient energy grids in the nation, making it an ideal location for data centers. These centers are already popping up in Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga. The future of data is here, and Tennessee is right in the middle of it. But what does this mean for the future? The future will belong to those who can connect, question, humanize, and secure data. Universities like the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are preparing students to think and lead at the intersections of computing, analytics, engineering, business, education, health, communication, and societal impact. The future will be led by those who can translate data into insight, insight into action, and action into progress. With deliberate investment in talent, Tennessee can move from participating in the data economy to steering it.