Companies like Meta are going all in on 'mammoth' data centers in order to power the ever-increasing demand for AI services, yet it's having an extremely negative impact on the living conditions of nearby residents, to the point where some are even 'scared' to drink their own water.
While artificial intelligence activity is increasing exponentially every single year with record numbers being achieved by the biggest models, the impact of that activity has been felt in a number of ways.
Not only are the jobs of millions of people already under threat as a consequence of the tools AI can provide, but scientists have issued terrifying warnings about its impact on the environment both locally and on a wider global scale.
Key to the local impact is the growing number of AI data centers that are popping up across the country as tech companies scramble to provide the computing power to meet the growing demand, with names like Meta, Google, and Elon Musk's xAI being among the biggest investors.
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xAI, for example, has been under significant scrutiny following the outrage of residents living within the proximity of its Memphis supercomputer, as they claim that the pollution emanating from the data center is leaving it difficult to breathe.
As reported by People, this impact is also felt across Meta's numerous data centers, with some residents remarking that data centers are leaving them scared to drink water due to demands of the company's Georgia facility.
Beverly Morris currently lives just several hundred meters away from Meta's Stanton Springs data center, and she has revealed that a buildup of sediment in their water has caused a number of the appliances in her home to stop working.
She only has a single working bathroom in her house, revealing the terrible living situation in an interview with the New York Times, adding that "it feels like we're fighting an unwinnable battle that we didn't sign up for" and that she's "scared to drink our own water."
This is due to the extreme amount of water that data centers like this one requires to keep the technology inside cool, and that will only grow as demand increases, 'forcing' Meta to build bigger facilities with larger power demands.
This hasn't just affected Beverly and her husband Jeff either, as their neighbor is also facing the harmful effects of living right by the data center. Chris Wilson has added to their frustrations, declaring that his water is "so brown, you'd think it came from a creek," and that's when the pressure is strong enough for it to even come through the tap.
It's certainly a warning for anyone living nearby future data center constructions, including on in Louisiana that has been described as a 'mammoth' by the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as it's large enough to cover the entirety of Manhattan and will likely require an astronomical amount of power and water.