Elon Musk's xAI Faces Lawsuit Over Pollution from Its Data Centre
Jakarta (ANTARA) - A US civil organisation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has sued Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, over alleged pollution from its data centre that is contaminating the air.
More specifically, the lawsuit targets xAI’s subsidiary, MZX Tech, regarding the operation of methane gas turbines without permits at the Colossus 2 data centre in South Memphis, USA.
According to Engadget (14/4), the NAACP filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, citing provisions of the Clean Air Act.
The lawsuit demands that xAI cease using the unpermitted turbines and seeks court-imposed economic sanctions against xAI for violating federal law.
The gas turbines in question are described as emitting pollution, hazardous chemicals, and fine particles that could cause various health problems, such as heart issues, respiratory diseases, and even certain types of cancer.
The primary concern in this lawsuit is the location of Colossus 2, which is adjacent to residential areas.
Before filing the lawsuit today, the NAACP sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to xAI, as required by the Clean Air Act.
xAI’s failure to respond to the notice is the reason the lawsuit has proceeded to court.
Ben added, “xAI must be held accountable for its reckless and unlawful actions — and that is what this lawsuit aims to achieve.”
In addition to the high costs of procuring components to train and run AI models, AI companies often need to prepare resources for data centres where all those components are installed.
Oracle has reportedly shifted to gas generators like xAI. Meanwhile, other industry players such as Google, Meta, and Amazon have invested in or signed agreements with nuclear energy providers to support their data centre efforts.
Building new energy sources quickly may help reduce costs, but it does not account for the negative environmental impacts of new power plants in public communities.
This has not been addressed by the current US leadership, and in the latest AI framework proposal issued by US President Donald Trump, environmental impacts from AI are largely ignored.
His administration prefers to call for simplifying permitting processes for things like energy generators.