# San Francisco eyes AI datacenter for boarded-up downtown mall

A proposal has been floated to convert a shuttered shopping mall in downtown San Francisco into a datacenter for artificial intelligence computing. The plan reflects both the city's struggling retail core and the surging demand for AI infrastructure. If pursued, it could signal a new use for vacant downtown space, though details and approvals remain unclear.

**Importance:** 2/5

## Sources

### World
- [The Guardian World](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/san-francisco-mall-ai-datacenter) — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:35 GMT