EARLIER THIS month Monte Carlo hosted the annual get-together of the world’s insurance firms, including the reinsurers(再保险公司) who insure them. The “Rendez-Vous de Septembre(蒙特卡洛“九月之约”)” is a swanky(奢华的、时髦的) affair. Rooms at the main venue can cost over $2,000 per night. Attendees can choose to arrive via helicopter. The organisers discourage any side-events that might compete with the “Official Cocktail”. Yet at this month’s gathering the gin drinkers’ thoughts drifted to(思绪飘向) less glamorous locales: the dusty deserts, flat farms and desolate(荒凉的、荒无人烟的) shrublands where data centres are being built.
本月早些时候，蒙特卡洛举办了全球保险公司的年度聚会，其中包括为保险公司提供再保险的再保险公司。这场“九月之约”（Rendez-Vous de Septembre）是一场奢华的盛会。主会场酒店的房间每晚价格可超过2000美元。与会者可以选择乘直升机抵达。组织方不鼓励举办任何可能与“官方鸡尾酒会”抢风头的周边活动。然而在本月的聚会上，喝着金酒的保险业人士却把思绪飘向了不那么光鲜的地方：那些尘土飞扬的沙漠、平坦的农田和荒凉的灌木地——数据中心正在那里拔地而起。
Despite their downmarket(低端的、面向大众的) locations, such centres are worth vast sums of money. Their owners are thus keen to insure them against natural catastrophes, cyber-hacks and a host of(许多、大量) other dangers. Premiums tied to such projects are set to rise from $11bn today to $24bn by 2030, reckons Swiss Re, a reinsurance giant. That makes data centres a welcome source of growth in an industry that is anxious about a looming(逼近的、迫在眉睫的) downturn. But like a good cocktail, the rush can also induce some headaches(带来一些麻烦).
尽管选址并不高端，这类数据中心却价值连城。因此，业主们急于为它们投保，以抵御自然灾害、网络攻击以及形形色色的其他风险。再保险巨头瑞士再保险（Swiss Re）估计，与这类项目相关的保费将从如今的110亿美元增至2030年的240亿美元。对于一个正担忧即将到来的衰退的行业来说，数据中心成了受欢迎的增长来源。但就像一杯好鸡尾酒，这股兴奋劲也可能带来一些头痛。
For a start, data centres are big undertakings(事业、工程), physically as well as financially. Although some have been in use—and insured—since the dotcom boom, the greater scale required by artificial intelligence can scramble(打乱、扰乱) conventional risk models. The larger the data centre, the greater the chance that a tornado might rip through it.(数据中心越大，被龙卷风横扫的几率就越高。) Some 40% of America’s data-centre capacity sits in zones often exposed to such dangers, Swiss Re notes. More than a quarter is at risk of being pelted(被（冰雹等）猛击) by large chunks of hail multiple times each year. Many centres are clustered(聚集、扎堆) together in spots like Virginia and Texas. If a natural disaster affects one, it will probably affect others.
首先，数据中心无论从实体规模还是资金规模来看都是大工程。尽管有些数据中心自互联网泡沫时期就已投入使用并投保，但人工智能所需的更大规模可能打乱传统的风险模型。数据中心越大，被龙卷风横扫的几率就越高。瑞士再保险指出，美国约40%的数据中心产能位于经常暴露于此类危险的区域。超过四分之一的数据中心每年可能多次遭遇大块冰雹的袭击。许多数据中心还扎堆聚集在弗吉尼亚州和得克萨斯州等地。一旦自然灾害袭击其中一个，很可能也会波及其他的。