Invisible Chains

South Dakota, like many rural states across the American heartland, is quietly becoming ground zero for a silent digital takeover—masked behind the sterile promise of “progress,” “innovation,” and “economic opportunity.” At first glance, the construction of sprawling new data centers across the state appears benign—an investment in infrastructure, jobs, and connectivity. But beneath the PR sheen and press releases lies a far more dangerous and unspoken reality: These are not just data centers.