Universities are buying and selling property for data centers, prompting concerns about an AI brain drain

Students walk past the Trustee's Gate on George Washington University's campus. (Credit: Photo by Cara Taylor for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The AI boom is putting a new kind of pressure on American universities.

The topic of AI has long been a point of contention within higher education from educators, students, and university administrations discussing the presence and use cases of the technology. But now it’s turned to a much more physical threat.