Entertainment
Elon Musk’s AI facility is reportedly operating gas turbines without a permit
Elon Musk’s AI company has caught the attention of environmentalists in Memphis, Tennessee for reportedly operating gas turbines without a permit.
On Monday, environmentalist groups Memphis Community Against Pollution, Young, Gifted & Green, Sierra Club Chickasaw Group, and Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department calling for an investigation of the xAI data center, which powers the X chatbot Grok.
Elon Musk’s Grok heeds misinformation concerns by sending users to Vote.gov
The environmental cost of supercomputers like xAI
According to the letter, xAI has installed at least 18 gas combustion turbines, which “have the capacity to emit about 130 tons of the ozone-precursor nitrogen oxides (NOx) per year.” The groups allege that the xAI data center, which may be contributing to Memphis’ existing smog problem, “has not applied for any air permits for these turbines.”
Mashable Light Speed
The vast amount of electricity and computing power required to run AI models is an emissions nightmare. According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption of data centers is projected to double by 2026, which would roughly equate to the entire electricity consumption of Japan. And that’s not counting the amount of water required to cool the servers and e-waste.
With supercomputers using up the same amount of energy as a small country, it’s easy to see the global environmental impact, let alone the immediate vicinity of a data center like Memphis.
The letter, which says xAI’s data centers violate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) smog standards, calls for an investigation by the local county health department. Moreover, the letter requests that the data center cease operations until a permit is obtained.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Twitter
-
Sports2 weeks ago
How to watch Argentina vs Australia: free live streams for 2024 Rugby Championship game
-
Tech4 weeks ago
Best MacBook Air deal: Get a refurbished MacBook Air for 74% off
-
Sports2 weeks ago
France vs. Belgium 2024 livestream: Watch UEFA Nations League for free
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Portugal vs. Scotland 2024 livestream: Watch UEFA Nations League for free
-
Awards2 weeks ago
Audrey Diwan, Florian Zeller Join France’s Oscar Committee
-
Sports2 weeks ago
NRL Grand Final 2024 livestream: How to watch NRL for free
-
Tech2 weeks ago
Apple Event livestream today: See iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, AirPods reveals
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Australia vs. Argentina 2024 livestream: Watch Rugby Championship for free