The Hidden Cost of Generative AI: How Data Centers Are Threatening Decades of Air Quality Progress
Reading Time: 5 minutesA new report highlighted by The Verge warns that the data center boom fueling generative AI could reverse over two decades of air quality progress in Texas, where gas-heavy energy sources are struggling to keep pace with soaring electricity demand. The decisions being made now about how to power these facilities will determine whether AI’s physical footprint becomes one of the most significant pollution setbacks of the modern era.