Some South Memphis residents have been complaining about a new data center built by xAI. They say it smells and makes it hard to breathe. How did it get built? Let’s chat.

Uh, who is xAI?

The name xAI refers to an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk in 2023. Its best known product is Grok, a chat bot that can be accessed through the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), another Musk owned business.

And what is a data center?

Wikipedia defines a data center as a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. You likely have driven passed a few and not realized what it was. Data centers are used to support a number of digital tasks like storing data in the cloud, processing financial transactions for apps or banks, or managing web pages on the internet. Sometimes they are utilized by a single company or they can used by multiple companies.

A data center sounds like a building with some computers. Why would that be a problem?

Data centers are known for using a lot of water, a lot of energy, and creating a lot of noise. Specifically for the xAI facility in Memphis, energy is generated on site. That means there are several natural gas turbines making energy locally for the data center’s use. This local energy generation may sound like a good idea since the site is not depriving the local area of electricity. However, the turbines release pollution to nearby residential communities in an unregulated manner.

If people know there are issues with data centers, why didn’t the community block it?

The data center was up and running quickly in about 122 days by using a pre-existing building. With the relatively quick build, many residents and some leaders didn’t know about the facility in time.

City leaders have a lot to weigh when they decide to allow new facilities in their communities. Likely, leaders are looking for new investment to bring jobs and tax revenue. However, all of that has to be weighed against the cost to the community. What does the business brought in matter if residents are sick or even worse dying? They won’t benefit from the new jobs or tax base. Hopefully leaders can find a solution that preserves the health of residents.

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