All those scary numbers aren’t what they seem.
As the build-out of AI data centers has accelerated, the public has tended to focus on every possible downside of these industrial projects. Some wariness—about the developments and the companies behind them—is sensible. As with almost any new industrial development, and depending on where they are built and how they are powered and cooled, data centers pose risks of excessive carbon-dioxide emissions and noise pollution.
But the panic about the harms of these projects has well outpaced the evidence. In my years researching and reporting on AI and the environment, with support from a grant from Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy), I’ve noticed that misconceptions abound. This panic, moreover, is leading communities to forgo massive amounts of tax revenue—largely because of threats that are inflated, confused, and sometimes nonexistent. The trade-offs are real.
