January 7, 2024 - It’s not hard to sense that something extraordinary is happening in the United States. A belief that digital technology is nonessential may be making way for a new measure of its worth — the idea that it is playing a significant role in bolstering the nation’s economy.

The evidence can be found in the vast computer-server farms that move and store data and activate everything from smartphones to laptops and digital TVs and make up the backbone of what’s called “in the cloud,” providing digital services such as streaming, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Syd S. Peng is the Charles E. Lawall chair of mining engineering emeritus at West Virginia University. This column was supplied by InsideSources.com.