The first foundationally new infrastructure in nearly a century—known as “the cloud”—is now being built. It is an ecosystem of digital networks and hardware, supported by thousands of warehouse-sized data centers that are unlike anything ever built.

In his new book, Digital Cathedrals, physicist and energy policy scholar Mark Mills argues that the cloud is as different from the communications infrastructure that preceded it as air travel was from automobiles. It will impact every corner of the economy, including energy consumption. The global cloud already consumes more energy than all aviation. As “software eats everything,” the demand for energy and reliability will only increase.

What are the underlying technological trajectories driving this transformation? What new possibilities and surprises will the cloud era bring? Join us for this exclusive book forum, where Mark Mills will offer his answers to these questions and more.

Mark Mills is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a faculty fellow at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is the author of the recent report “The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking” and the 2018 book Work in the Age of Robots. An experienced energy-tech investor, he was a cofounder of Digital Power Capital and is now a strategic partner with Cottonwood Venture Partners.

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