When Data Centers Leave Earth

Article · September 27, 2026

As computing moves beyond Earth, familiar assumptions about trust, resilience, and control need closer examination. This article explores how evidence and responsibility can remain continuous across orbital handoffs, independent operators, and connection outages. It asks what should be tested before proposing a formal framework, and why assurance matters for AI-enabled services: helping people judge when to trust a result, recognize uncertainty, and hold someone accountable when things go wrong.