AI Data Centers Are The New Environmental Burden Black Communities Didn’t Ask For

Essence Magazine:

Futuristic data center By Danielle A. Davis ·Updated January 16, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

It’s easy to talk about artificial intelligence as something abstract–software in the cloud, algorithms behind a screen, innovation happening somewhere far away. But for many Black communities across the country, AI is no longer theoretical. It’s loud. It’s physical. And it’s showing up next door in the form of massive data centers that demand enormous amounts of

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