"Tech companies have invested so much money in building data centers in recent months, it's actively driving the US economy -and the AI race is showing no signs of slowing down. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg told President Donald Trump last week that the company would spend $600 billion on US infrastructure-including data centers-by 2028, while OpenAI has committed already to spending $1.4 trillion."
"Fengqi You, a professor in energy systems engineering at Cornell and one of the authors of the analysis, says that the study, which began three years ago, comes at "a perfect time to understand how AI is making an impact on climate systems and water usage and consumption." The AI industry "is growing much faster than we expected," he adds-especially with the Trump administration's laser focus on the industry. "This whole thing is just getting so much momentum right now.""
AI-driven data center buildouts are expanding rapidly, with companies pledging hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars in infrastructure investments. Projected growth will significantly increase electricity and water consumption across the US through the end of the decade. Environmental impacts will vary by location according to grid carbon intensity and regional water scarcity. Multiple modeled scenarios indicate that corporate net-zero commitments may be insufficient to offset emissions and water use associated with large-scale facilities. Strategic siting in low-carbon and water-abundant regions and coordinated planning can reduce harmful impacts, while uncoordinated development risks exacerbating emissions and stressing local water resources.
Read at WIRED
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