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This post will shift focus to a more general discussion on the media, it’s influence on the everyday citizen, and individuals who are bringing the monetized relationship between the press, the government, and the public to light. A handful of billionaires own effectively all of mainstream media, and they continue to buy up more media sources to capture the dissemination of information. Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, and many others lobby their own political opinions through major media sources (CNN, NBC, Washington Post, Fox News, etc.) to capture the attention of the American public and shift attention away from the actual problems present in society. These are tools that now operate to manipulate the American public, take advantage of a lack of knowledge, and shape the values that run our elections. The big picture is an Authoritarian system built under the guise of a democratized press.
I believe that one of the largest issues plagueing the information economy is that of the media, and without the citizen’s knowledge of this, income inequality, pollution, environmental degradation, human rights violations, constitutional violations, and overall critical thinking will continue to diminish in our society. We are swiftly moving towards a society run by money, not by the people, and as a result, we undermine the very values that built this great nation. We are already in this corrupt system, but if information cannot be spread, it will only get worse with the advent of AI, erosion of privacy, and the surveillance state.
The Problem: My main issue with the operation of our society is that of the great amount of deception surrounding partisanship. Media sources consistently blame the other side for society’s shortfalls, and people take the bait because they believe these sources to be honest places to find information. None of them are. They are bought and paid for by the ultra wealthy, who control the narrative, telling citizens that the other side is to blame. Behind closed doors they laugh at the American public. The ultra wealthy have a parasitic relationship with the rest of society, and act as vacuums for the consolidation of wealth. The consequence of this is a perpetual “squeeze” of the middle class, where living conditions erode as prices rise. This is at a time of ‘record growth’ and soaring corporate profits. The people are being taken advantage of, plain and simple. In the words of Gary’s Economics, we need to TAX WEALTH NOT WORK. This issue is non-partisan, and without proper taxation of the ultra wealthy, our society, and our globe will fall under the umbrella of plutocracy (rule by the ultra wealthy). Even individuals with above average income, who consider themselves well off will soon be forced out of home and land ownership, and only then will they realize this message. The middle class in America is eroding faster than ever, people slip into poverty everyday, and people that are well off tend to think – “I’m doing ok, so there isn’t an issue”. Well, very soon you will have an issue, and you will understand that you are taking part in a structural development of a permanent underclass. We will eventually enter a phase similar to the monarchies that the US was built to fundamentally oppose. This time around though, we are one of the major arbiters of inequality.
To understand this problem, I encourage you to watch the youtube channels – Barry’s Economics, Gary’s Economics, and Louis Rossman. All of which explain how we, the people, are getting taken advantage of and treated like cattle. This is not partisan, this is not the mainstream information presented by the media, this is not even a commonly discussed issue in government, because people are brainwashed by the technology that pervades their very existence. Fight back, don’t let them continue to take your freedom, and demand a future where individual ownership is still a possibility. Share this blog, share these youtube channels, get the word out before too many people make a decision that irreversibly damages the liberties of everyone. Fight the injustice, bring it to light, share what the mainstream media is not willing to. Too many violations of the people’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are occurring, and if we want a future run by all, not just a select few, speak up. Think for yourself, observe the situations that dictate societal progression, and put the damn phone down.
This post will aim to focus more on the issues surrounding a specific data center – the Stargate Data Center located in Abilene, Texas. For the sake of clarity and to prevent unnecessary repetition, I will be referring to the stargate data center as the SDC-Abilene. The SDC-Abilene is a data center working under OpenAI’s umbrella stargate program, and is a joint venture operated by OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank. This data center is currently functional and operating today. Whereas the last few posts have covered general trends and my opinions, this post will take aim to take a more objective lens and will aim to delve deep into the questionable narrative surrounding this iteration of the Stargate Data Center.
Pulling a quote directly from CEO Sam Altman on OpenAI’s website, “AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it. That compute is the key to ensuring everyone can benefit from AI and to unlocking future breakthroughs. We’re already making historic progress toward that goal through Stargate and moving quickly not just to meet its initial commitment, but to lay the foundation for what comes next.” (1) Let’s unpack some implications of this quote, before we dive into the regulatory issues surrounding this data center. First, Altman alludes to AI fulfilling a promise. He then indicates this promise is ensuring everyone can benefit from AI to unlock future breakthroughs. He furthers this by stating that this project is laying the foundation for what comes next. This final statement is key, as it indicates the massive ‘data center movement’ is just beginning, and the SDC-Abilene is just a stepping stone for a much larger project. Well, if this is the case, then what are we sacrificing to achieve this landmark technological change? In addition, what impacts does this data center have on people and the environment?
First of all, I would like to note the political ramifications of the construction of this data center, and the principle that underlines the construction and operation of the SDC-Abilene. According to Liz Mineo of the Harvard Gazette, “The public is concerned about rising electricity rates caused by data centers. They are concerned about the enormous water use that data centers require. They’re concerned about public handouts in the form of tax breaks that are going to data center developers, and they’re also aware that data centers don’t bring meaningful economic development, especially in the form of jobs.” (2) These concerns, among others, have major implications regarding the impact of SDC-Abilene on the surrounding environment.
Electricity/Environmental Concerns:
Per Jody Arrington, US House Representative, SDC-Abilene connects directly to the ERCOT grid. In addition, Arrington’s report notes that, “Advanced natural gas turbines from GE Vernova will deliver uninterrupted reliability and support grid stability. Ultimately, this plant will be used for backup power, rather than traditional, higher-emission diesel generators.” (3) Unpacking this notion, we see a distinction that is key in defining the actual methods of power generation in the operation of this data center. This being the phrase ‘Ultimately, this plant will be used for backup power’. This statement heavily implies that the current state of operation for this plant is defined by the use of natural gas turbines. Such turbines contribute directly to air pollution, production of VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), and environmental degradation. It is likely that in the current state of operations, the primary method for energy production at SDC-Abilene is to burn fossil fuels to accommodate for massive energy requirements. This brings the concern of the environment into the picture and paired with federal cuts for environmental agencies like the EPA, NOAA, and NWS, such activity presents a collusive picture to circumvent regulatory concern surrounding the environment. In my opinion, pollution from these turbines is one of the more major issues surrounding SDC-Abilene.
Water Concerns:
Another major concern surrounding this data center as presented by Mineo is that of water usage required for operation. Referring back to Representative Arrington’s report, the system runs on a closed-loop and is non-evaporative, meaning that once the water is in the system, it continues to be circulated through the system indefinitely. However, something touted in this report is that the ‘anticipated usage’ of water totals 12,625 gallons per building per year. This is an interesting and rather deceptive way to word this, as the total amount of buildings planned will equal 8. Meaning, based on these preliminary figures, the yearly water consumption will equal 101,000 gallons per year once development is completed. This seems to be a more ethically planned out section of the data center’s operation, as it appears that the developers of this data center did take water use into heavy consideration in their design and operational plans. However, that is assuming that this preliminary data is accurate. The true water use may be much higher or lower.
Noise Pollution Concerns:
Something not mentioned in Mineo’s report is that of the issue of noise pollution, which can cause harm to humans and animals in the surrounding environment. Many complaints have already surfaced surrounding other, smaller data centers and the noise they produce. SDC-Abilene is considerably larger. Macy Meinhardt of Chron notes that residents in areas near data centers have concerns surrounding noise pollution. For example, “In Brazoria County, residents living near a Giga Energy computing site around the Sloping Acres neighborhood say a constant industrial hum has disrupted daily life for months. Several neighbors have compared the sound to an enormous “washing machine” that never turns off.” and “One nearby resident recently wrote on social media that her family had “spent years to be where we are today,” only for “an AI data center to come in and ruin our peace.” (4) Noise pollution is a significant issue that localities need to take into consideration before approving the construction of data centers. In addition, with SDC-Abilene, the local and state government ought to take into consideration the concerns of the local population and support democratic governance, not secretive, “gotcha” policymaking that makes people regret living there.
Takeaways:
SDC-Abilene is part of a supposed promised future where AI leads humanity into a golden age. So, what happens in the meantime? There are legitimate concerns about the operation of SDC-Abilene, and other data centers of the sort. The energy grid, the environment, water supplies, and noise pollution stand at the forefront of this conversation. Tying this into the political sphere, our politicians need to take these issues seriously, and our government needs to ensure that proper regulations are in place to remediate such concerns and guide development towards a path that supports democracy and the environment. I would urge the State Government of Texas to seriously consider the actual impacts of these data centers, and to protect the people that make it the place it is, as opposed to protecting the monetary influence that has a stranglehold on ethical development.
Citations:
(1) – OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites. (2026, May 27). OpenAI. https://openai.com/index/five-new-stargate-sites/
(2) – Mineo, L. (2026, April 9). Why are communities pushing back against data centers? Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/04/why-are-communities-pushing-back-against-data-centers/
(3) – Confidential -Oracle Internal. (2025). https://arrington.house.gov/uploadedfiles/final_oracle_oai_data_center_fact_sheet_092225b.pdf
(4) – Meinhardt, M. (2026, May 17). Texas data centers bring new forever hum that never turns off. Chron. https://www.chron.com/news/article/data-centers-brazoria-county-noises-22261489.php
This post will cover ethics in policymaking and the necessary isolation of personal interests from impacting public policy. I am no expert by any means, but I can observe trends over time, and our era of technology is moving towards mass surveillance of the American populous. I believe the wealthy have a vested monetary interest in shaping our future towards this route. I also believe that we already effectively live in a surveillance economy. Tailored ads, flock cameras, and subscription services have all undermined the constitutional values of freedom, privacy, and ownership. On a broader scale, our government as a whole has been captured by outside influence, whether that be through lobbying from foreign agencies, lobbying from tech companies, or just lobbying from the ultra-wealthy. Effectively, people need to understand A) That the government ought to work to help people, and B) That it is up to us to shape the future of policymaking to maximize the benefits of governmental action.
The actual reality has been trending in the opposite direction. There are good people out there in the political realm who wish to truly better the world through the exercise of their political power, but the majority of individuals in positions of political power have been corrupted by their power and utilize it to meet their own personal economic interests. Insider trading, SuperPACs in elections, and political action through veiled interests are all examples of this. What is necessary is a fundamental reshaping of what it means to be a politician. Thomas Massie was a great example of someone who fought for the people while he was in office, and his loss in the congressional race in Kentucky is a great example of what happens when money and propaganda undermine and delegitimize the goals of the American Populous. The two-party system in general is the biggest lie of our government, and currently only functions to reshape the narrative and steer the people away from what is really going on. The psyops run incredibly deep in this country, and no one is immune. However, through effective questioning and introspection, they can be brought to light. The people need to wake up from the superficial reality and understand that only through action can things change. Otherwise, we are made to be drones of the system, where intense and thorough distraction – social media, news, falsified job reports, etc. – have shaped the way people think, and thus the way they respond to political ‘progress’. I believe a national movement is necessary, where people consolidate, separate the true values of a proper functioning society from distractions, and let their politicians know they need change. The scope of this movement ought to be more general so as to support a large amount of people’s views, though there ought to also be subsets of the movement that tailor specifically to narrow changes in the way our sociopolitical system runs. The surveillance state may eventually function to mechanically quell any such movement, as individuals who speak up may be ostracized, silenced through algorithms, or painted as unstable. This already happens on a large scale with more prominent figures, such as Tucker Carlson, who is primarily known as a major Republican figure. Once he started fighting back against the way society is moving, he was subsequently ostracized by fox news and the republican party generally. This had, in my opinion, a ripple effect on some of the individuals who refer to themselves as “Republicans”. I believe many average citizens then began to view Tucker as an enemy of the state, and due to the immense brainwashing provided by the news, they turned away from a person trying to help them understand the reality of the political scheme we live in. I will note, I am not a republican, nor a democrat, but I do believe honesty, transparency, and popular sovereignty ought to outweigh partisanship. This is why I mention Tucker as a truth-seeker.
So, what can be done about this in terms of surveillance? Well, quite a bit, but not without the help of the general populous and the establishment. Surveillance could act as a tool for good, and it often does, but is also an extremely dangerous sect of technology that directly contradicts many values that shaped the founding of this country. I believe that, as with data centers, this evolution in technology needs to be approached carefully with poise, and with ethics in mind. I cannot say which ethical framework would be best, but an application of a framework is necessary, and strict adherence is also necessary to preserve the manner in which the country ought to operate.
The consolidation of wealth is not a new phenomenon, and major global events empirically serve as an indicator of increasing wealth inequality. Take COVID-19 or the 2008 financial crisis for example. The individuals who benefitted most from these events have come out of them richer than before, while the remaining 99% of the population comes out with less agency, less freedom, and proportionately less capital. COVID-19 marked one of the major transfers of wealth from poor->rich in recorded history. (1) This is not a phenomenon unique to the US either, as globally speaking, economic inequality has continued to rise at an even greater rate. The current world order runs on the ideal of economic output through global trade. However, what happens when economic output can no longer be supported by humans? What happens when profitability places humanity and the environment in a permanent backseat? What happens when our technological leaders continue to support the erosion of individual freedoms in favor of gaining more capital? What happens when the values that guide technological innovation are those that promote addiction, isolation, mental health issues, and cognitive decline? What happens when we ignore humanity and the environment entirely?
You get data centers popping up everywhere against the will of the people.
So how did we get here? I would argue that a piece of the problem is the trend of placing technological emphasis on unethical design. The advent of social media has acted as a hallmark of this trend… people’s psychology is being hijacked to the point where they spend more time sitting in front of a dopamine machine than socializing, creating, or self-actualizing. Social media (and tech in general) has monopolized the attention economy, and the people under the scope of its control have no idea that they are feeding into a system that fuels cognitive decline and stunts their ability to contribute to the world in a meaningful way. People are being turned into drones, who don’t want to think for themselves even if they could. The propaganda machine goes much deeper than commonly perceived, and the populous is controlled by a corrupt media system. Tying this into policy, the American political system acts to polarize people, turn them against each other, and hide the real evil behind closed doors. Policymaking has been lost on the people, the control over the “democracy” of America doesn’t belong to the people who live here anymore, it belongs to whoever can lobby (pay) the government the most. Culpability belongs to the politicians who let this happen, who ignore the populous in favor of their bank accounts. America has become disgustingly corporatized. It will not get better unless the people join together and speak up.
The first major hurdle preventing just outcomes for the people in my opinion is that of ‘Citizens United’. This was a court case where wealthy individuals took on the Federal Election Commission under the rather ironic name ‘Citizens United’. The wealthy individuals won this case, and the Supreme Court shifted the scope of power in elections towards the financial elites, and away from the people. According to Daniel L. Weaver of the Brennan Center for Justice, “The ruling has ushered in massive increases in political spending from outside groups, dramatically expanding the already outsized political influence of ultra-wealthy donors, corporations, and special interest groups.” (2) In effect, the government sold its soul, sold its constitutional legitimacy, and lost the democratic principles it was founded on in one fell swoop. The creation of Super-PACS, dark money, and anonymous spending has eroded freedom of political expression, destroyed popular sovereignty (rule by the people), and undermined ethical policymaking.
Moving into the scope of data centers, some of the individuals that have captured the US government’s popular sovereignty are currently placing the biggest technological bet in history – that they can replace human labor entirely, through agentic AI that works around the clock, with no pay. The current paradigm ruling this unethical progress in the realm of AI development is unnecessarily hasty competition, where effective guardrails are being ignored entirely, because if an AI company were to focus on ethical development, then it wouldn’t be able to compete with the other AI companies. The 10-year ban on all AI regulation in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is a prime example of this, and it acts as a demonstration of the true commitments of the government; profit for elected officials and technocrats at the cost of the everyday citizen and the environment. Data centers continue to be needlessly funded at the cost of the American populous, with disenfranchised populations being impacted the most. The growth in this sector is unprecedented and is demonstrated by the fact that currently there is currently 295,719 megawatts of data center operating capacity planned to be developed. Current data centers are operating at 18,405 megawatts. (3) This is around a 16x increase in the amount of electrical power that is slated to be directed towards data centers and is unique to AI data centers specifically. Without ethically defined regulation, this progress cannot be managed, and we risk sacrificing the environment and our people to build this. These data centers are set to further concentrate wealth into the hands of even fewer people and will likely monopolize the global economy even more than it already is.
This is a turning point in society, where either people will wake up and realize the unjust and inhumane future that is being built ought not exist, or they will continue to consume misinformation that is fed to them by economic elites and propped up by the media and aspects of the political system, maintaining the illusion that everything is ok.
This is not an issue unique to the US, our globe needs the action of the populous now, more than ever. If you are reading this, peacefully mobilize and speak up for your rights. Before they dissolve entirely and you are left wondering what happened. This is an extremely critical time, for humanity, for the environment, for morality, and for justice. If you live in a democratically governed country, please talk to your elected officials, and help them to understand who and what they are sacrificing for their paycheck. Help them to understand that we are not currently building a future conducive to humanity. Technology isn’t inherently unethical, and neither is the case of AI and its unprecedented rise, but if we don’t develop this technology in a considerate and moral way, we may lose the world as we know it.
Do not lay idle while the world moves on without you. Be a part of a brighter future. AI can be a tool for immense, equitable prosperity, so I urge you to help guide us towards a future we can be proud of. Promote ethical regulation and democratically defined principles for this technology. Don’t give up, maintain hope, and back that up with measurable action.
Citations:
(1) – How the world’s richest people became much richer during the pandemic. (2023). Marketplace.org. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2023/01/16/how-the-worlds-richest-people-became-much-richer-during-the-pandemic
(2) – 221. (2025, January 14). Citizens United, Explained. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained
(3) – US Data Center Map — Project List & Tracker. (2026). Cleanview. https://cleanview.co/data-centers/us
SB-180 is a senate bill approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 6/26/2025. It is presented as a bill that has the primary means to delegate power to local governments in relation to hurricane relief. Per the Florida Senate Website, the bill “makes various changes relating to the preparation and response activities of state and local government when emergencies impact the state.” (1) After reading this initial statement, one would naturally infer that this bill has nothing to do with data center construction and land use regulations that apply to such construction. However, with this one, the devil is in the details, and the bill truly curtails the ability for local action to occur to prevent or regulate data center construction.
In my opinion, the bill creates a loophole for the State Government of Florida to block any local regulation on issues of land use and was created to specifically limit regulations on data centers in Florida. Part of the questionable wording is as follows, “For one year after a hurricane makes landfall, the bill prohibits certain counties and municipalities from proposing or adopting a moratorium on the construction or redevelopment of property or more restrictive or burdensome regulations or procedures pertaining to land development. If these provisions are not followed, the bill provides a procedure for a person to file a suit against a local government for declaratory and injunctive relief and entitles a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney fees and costs. A county listed in a federal disaster declaration, or a municipality located within such a county, located entirely or partially within 100 miles of a hurricane’s track is subject to the prohibition.” (2) Let’s break the wording down. The idea of prohibiting local governments from regulating land use after disasters sounds okay, but the issue lies in the idea that after a hurricane or other disaster occurs, the state government can supersede any additional regulation made by a locality in relation to land use. Currently, the only counties under federal disaster declarations in the state of Florida are Clay County, Putnam County, and Levy County. (3) However, this doesn’t encompass the full scope of the bill, as the fine text notated in the bill presents a much more restrictive narrative when concerning land use regulations. As indicated in the bill’s summary report, the prohibition of local regulation would seem to apply only in cases where a hurricane has tracked within 100 miles within a year. However, the fine details of the bill indicate otherwise. I only combed through one section of the bills actual text, and I found an interesting section, stating “Each county listed in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Debby (DR-4806), Hurricane Helene (DR-1323 4828), or Hurricane Milton (DR-4834), and each municipality within one of those counties, may not propose or adopt any moratorium on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of any property damaged by such hurricanes; propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations; or propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning review, approval, or issuance of a site plan, development permit, or development order, to the extent that those terms are defined by s. 163.3164, Florida Statutes, before October 1, 2027” (4) This phrasing presents a legitimate problem, as it extends the limitations on regulations to many more counties, opening the door for data centers to be built in spite of local pushback. Such limitations effectively negate local pushback in nearly every county in Florida.
When shifting into the realm of realized impacts as a result of SB-180, it is apparent that the bill has functioned to support the construction of data centers at the cost of the environment. According to an article written in the Bradenton Herald, “Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and developers have used the law to block local governments from passing measures to slow down growth, update building codes or strengthen local environmental protections.” (5) In theory, this bill was advertised as a revised means of responding to natural disasters, however, in practice the bill offers a loophole for developers of data centers to exploit and bypass local restrictions that cannot be revised to properly accommodate ethical land use.
This is where the guise of meaningful change in policymaking comes into play. Now, more than ever, we need the dissemination of this information to occur in order to protect the American people, the environment, and greater society from being taken advantage of by legal wording and loopholes presented to benefit the corporate world. Too often do bills get passed that operate differently than presented, where the scope is intentionally presented as too general. Thus, allowing for violations to degrade the fabric of society to a point where individuals are not educated enough to understand the violations being pushed on them. Additionally, allowing for individuals in positions of power to serve corporate interests at the expense of the American people. Educate yourself, engage in local coalitions, and fight for meaningful change in an era of increasing political deception.
Citations:
(1) – 2025 Bill Summaries – The Florida Senate. (2025). Flsenate.gov. https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2025/html/180
(2) – 2025 Bill Summaries – The Florida Senate. (2025). (2)
(3) – Disasters and Other Declarations | FEMA.gov. (2026, April 21). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations?field_dv2_declaration_date_value%5Bmin%5D=2025&field_dv2_declaration_date_value%5Bmax%5D=2026&field_dv2_declaration_type_value=All&field_dv2_incident_type_target_id_selective=All&field_dv2_state_territory_tribal_value%5B%5D=FL
(4) – ENROLLED 2025 Legislature CS for CS for SB 180, 2nd Engrossed. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2026, from https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/180/BillText/er/PDF, pg. 46
(5) – Ballogg, R. (2026, April 2). A win for developers? Florida lawmakers fail to restore local control over growth. Bradenton Herald. https://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article314941367.html
A big question related to data centers is that of their water usage in relation to the increased need in computing power. This post will aim to cover the statistics surrounding energy and water usage and to answer crucial questions regarding the functional use of LLM’s.
A projected major component of the US economy is that of data centers and their related energy/water usage to operate LLM’s (Large Language Models). As such, the statistics surrounding such usage are paramount to determining energy costs and water supply. According to the 2024 US Data Center Energy Usage Report, by 2028 data center energy usage will account for 6.7% to 12.0% of total U.S. electricity consumption. (1) This projected increase paints a stark picture; We need regulations and technology to keep up with energy usage in order to preserve ample energy supply in areas related to the consumer. If consumer prices were increased as a result of increased energy usage in data centers, then a disproportionate impact could occur that would harm the consumer in terms of grid stability and rising energy prices. In addition, the ‘water shock’ that could occur as a result of the operation of LLM’s in data centers could have catastrophic impacts for the environment and water supply. A 2025 study indicates that user queries and inferences within LLM’s account for a greater amount of energy and water usage as compared to training LLM’s. (2) This information illustrates that personal usage of LLM’s contributes directly to energy and water usage. In addition, it illustrates that when individuals opt to use LLM’s to answer questions or clarify information, as opposed to traditional research methods, they contribute directly to environmental stress.
As a result of this inference, the question must be drawn: Should individuals opt to avoid or limit use of LLM’s in order to both preserve energy and water supply?
This is a complicated issue, and it goes hand in hand with the realms of advertising, access to information, and the evolution of efficient technology in the realm of data centers. I would argue that when people outsource their information gathering and problem-solving skills to LLM’s, they become increasingly dependent on LLM’s to provide information for them, leading to a feedback loop of AI usage. This feedback loop only contributes further to environmental degradation and demonstrates a call to action to determining more efficient methods for running data centers so as to not contribute to pollution, water shortages, and a windfall of environmental effects as a result.
Advertising impacts LLM usage in the manner that it encourages individuals who are the subjects of advertisements to use LLM’s to solve their problems or answer their queries. There is nothing wrong with developing ways for people to solve problems, but the ethical background surrounding LLM’s can create unintended effects. Let’s say, as a thought experiment, an advertisement for Open AI in an NBA game generates a 50% uptick in national inference rates among all Chat GPT models. This hypothetical uptick would potentially lead to a proportional uptick in required water to cool the systems as well as required energy to run the systems. In these ‘one-off’ scenarios, demand would increase disproportionately, leading to a short-term usage of water and energy that would both increase energy prices in the short term, and decrease water supply in the short-term. This also assumes that when this uptick occurs, individuals don’t continue using LLM’s at the same rate. If they were to do so, then the conversion of the market share of information gathering to LLM’s would contribute to more long-term increases in water and energy usage. This leads to an increased demand of efficient technology to adapt to these changes, as water and energy are finite.
So, this begs another question: What is being done to improve the technology surrounding water and energy usage in data centers that operate LLM’s?
Well, it’s difficult to determine the usage of innovative techniques in the processes of data centers hosting LLM’s. We can hope that companies that manage the data centers utilize more eco-friendly techniques in their installation and operation processes. I would also argue for increased visibility of the operations of data centers, and increased regulation on limitations of operation in accordance with proper water and energy usage. It is empirically determined that data centers have a disproportionate impact on the environments of marginalized communities, so it is key to determining how to not only mitigate these impacts, but to ideally, nullify them completely. When considering certain techniques for improving efficiency, it is useful to refer back to the 2024 US Data Center Energy Usage Report, which states, “advances in processor designs, new materials, system integration approaches, and other data center aspects could provide substantial efficiency benefits”. (3)
In summation, it is paramount that the guiding values of the operation of data centers are those of Transparency, Efficiency, and Sustainability in terms of environmental and human impacts. Retaining such values will allow us to maintain ethical business practices in the age of increased AI, and more specifically, LLM influence.
Citations:
(1) – Shehabi, A., Newkirk, A., Smith, S. J., Hubbard, A., Lei, N., Abu, M., Holecek, B., Koomey, J., Masanet, E., & Sartor, D. (2024). 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report. Escholarship.org. https://doi.org/10.71468/P1WC7Q
(2) – Jegham, N., Abdelatti, M., Elmoubarki, L., & Hendawi, A. (n.d.). How Hungry is AI? Benchmarking Energy, Water, and Carbon Footprint of LLM Inference. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.09598, pg. 1
(3) – Shehabi, A., Newkirk, A., Smith, S. J., Hubbard, A., Lei, N., Abu, M., Holecek, B., Koomey, J., Masanet, E., & Sartor, D. (2024). 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report. Escholarship.org. https://doi.org/10.71468/P1WC7Q pg. 70
Welcome! This is my first attempt at a blog, and I am looking forward to learning as I go in order to promote political action at the local level to guide ethical standards for data center operation. Some goals of this project include: To encourage the moral populous to act on health and environmental concerns, to streamline the information process at local levels to allow for proper routes to taking action, and overall, to encourage ethical business practices in the age of information technology.
This first post will follow the FRII data center located in Fort Collins, Colorado. This center was built in 2020, formerly managed by Front Range Internet Inc, and now operated by Front Range Digital Holdings (Vistabeam). This transition appears to have occurred in 2022 when Front Range Internet went bankrupt. (1) In terms of the operating capacity of this data center, it appears that it operates in a space of 50,000 square feet, with a 10-megawatt power capacity. It carries a 1.4 PUE rating and is air cooled. This data center is marked as a standard data center, with limited applicability to developing/housing LLM’s. (2)
My main concerns with this data center are those of noise pollution and environmental impacts. I would encourage any individuals who share these concerns (or have other concerns) to reach out to the City of Fort Collins with any questions. As such, I have compiled some contact information for concerned individuals to reach out to the City of Fort Collins (This is all acquired through the City of Fort Collins website). In addition, attending city council meeting and voicing your opinions helps to sway political leaders in the right direction. Local action is what changes communities for the better!
For Code Compliance:
Phone Number – 970-416-2350
Email Address – codecompliance@fortcollins.gov
For Environmental Concerns:
Phone Number – 970-221-6600
Email Address – ourclimatefuture@fortcollins.gov
My Contact Info:
If you want to reach out to me in regard to concerns in your locality, you can contact me at ecodata@tutamail.com. I will be happy to document information related to a data center of your concern! Please do so in order to help facilitate a better future!
Citations:
(1) – Vistabeam Internet. (2022, November 2). Vistabeam Completes Acquisition of Front Range Internet’s Fixed Wireless Product. Vistabeam Internet. https://vistabeam.com/newsroom/vistabeam-acquire-frii/
(2) – GoDataCenters. (2026). GoDataCenters. GoDataCenters. https://www.godatacenters.com/data-centers/colorado/fort-collins/bc82020e-0416-4c71-94d2-715aa00c688d
Eco Data - Empowering Sociopolitical Action in the Age of Growing Technological Influence 