In the race to dominate the AI industry, tech giants are planting data centers across the US. But for many Americans, silicon valleyโs cash crop feels more like an invasive species โ one which, when it takes root, begins to overwhelm everything around it.
For one thing, the facilities are incredibly noisy, their cooling systems likened to a โdistant jet that never leaves.โ Their collective energy demand is so high that theyโre driving up utility prices throughout the country, in some cases prompting insufferable CEOs to resort to methane gas generators, choking local communities with noxious fumes.
Their water intake is so enormous that taps in nearby homes can stop running, while their excessive pollution has been linked to a growing cancer risk. Thatโs before we even get into the massive financial problem with the AI data center gold rush, which in many ways is now holding up the stagnant US economy.
As if all that werenโt enough, one community is now learning about another obnoxious data center trait: their tendency to burst into flames. The fire department in Jerome Township, Ohio, an exurb northwest of Columbus, has grown increasingly annoyed at two Amazon data centers over the last four years.
Since the first site was approved by local officials in 2021, first responders have answered a combined 84 emergencies between the two facilities, a rate of about two calls a month, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
