[burningion]

I know everyone likes to abstract away the costs associated with AI data centers.

But let's look at what has happened with Grok, for example:

From May 6, 2025

https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-xai-memphis-35-14321739...

>The company has no Clean Air Act permits.

> In just 11 months since the company arrived in Memphis, xAI has become one of Shelby County's largest emitters of smog-producing nitrogen oxides, according to calculations by environmental groups whose data has been reviewed by POLITICO's E&E News. The plant is in an area whose air is already considered unhealthy due to smog.

> The turbines spew nitrogen oxides, also known as NOx, at an estimated rate of 1,200 to 2,000 tons a year — far more than the gas-fired power plant across the street or the oil refinery down the road.

The details are in the specifics here. People are _already_ feeling the effects of the AI race, the consequences just aren't evenly distributed.

And if we look at the "clean" nuclear deals to power these data centers:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-regulators-reject...

> The Talen agreement, however, would divert large amounts of power currently supplying the regional grid, which FERC said raised concerns about how that loss of supply would affect power bills and reliability. It was also unclear how transmission and distribution upgrades would be paid for.

The scale of environmental / social impacts comes down to how aggressive the AI race gets.