Inside town where Elon Musk's AI supercomputers have left residents struggling to breathe
Elon Musk's supercomputers for his artificial intelligence company are producing smog without pollution controls in place in a town where residents claim they are becoming ill as a result.
The tech billionaire set up an artificial intelligence company in South Memphis, Tennessee, and the town now leads the state in emergency medical visits for asthma, it is reported. And it claimed that none of the 35 methane gas turbines that power Musk's xAI supercomputers have pollution controls normally required by federal law. The company has been running at the site for less than a year with nearby residents saying they "can't breathe at home" and that "it smells like gas outside."
The company does not have any Clean Air Act permits and has become one of the largest emitters of the pollutant nitrogen oxide, according to environmental groups, reports Politico. Memphis has been found to have the highest number of cases by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America with the area already having poor air quality before the arrival of Musk's company, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Turbines now spew out an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides further contributing to the smog issue in the area. And the Southern Environmental Law Center reportedly estimates that these emissions are far higher than the gas-fired power plant or the oil refinery both nearby.
Musk said the turbines were necessary to get the third version of the company's AI chatbot up and running in time when he spoke at the launch in February, adding: 'We have generators on one side of the building, just trailer after trailer of generators until we can get the utility power to come in.'
He has not publicly addressed concerns about pollution. Three miles away from the plant is Boxtown - a deprived area that has a further 17 industrial facilities on its doorstep. More than 90 per cent of those living in Boxtown nowadays are Black, according to the Census Bureau, with a median household income of $36,000 (£26,900).
'I can't breathe at home, it smells like gas outside,' Boxtown resident Alexis Humphreys said through tears, holding up her asthma inhaler during a public hearing about the turbines on April 25. 'How come I can't breathe at home and y'all get to breathe at home?'
"They put our lungs and our air on the auction block and sold us to the richest man in the world," said Rep Justin Pearson at a protest last month. While Musk has referred to his AI programme Grok as 'the most fun AI in the world', residents in Boxtown say they are paying for the images it generates with their health.
At the public hearing on April 25, numerous residents described cases of asthma and cancer in their families which they claim are due to air pollution as they asked the Shelby County Department of Health deny xAI's permit and shut down the turbines. Jasmine Bernard, a Boxtown resident just 15-years-old said: "The way they have come into the city, it's like, oh, you think we are unintelligent, you think that the people in these communities aren't able to comprehend what you are ding and will take this assault on our health lying down."
The turbines Musk has installed are only temporary, meaning they don't require federal permits for their emissions of pollutants including NOx and formaldehyde, xAI's environmental consultant Shannon Lynn said. But the damage they can do is considerable.
As residential pressure built in January, xAI applied for permits for 15 of its turbines that will allegedly be permanent. Mr Lynn said, however, that the company will wait until the application process is approved before pollution control is installed on those turbines.
The friction between Memphis residents and xAI could paint a picture of the future for many Americans, as more artificial intelligence centres are planned. Artificial intelligence requires more electricity than regular internet searches, even to complete basic tasks. Across the US, utility supplies have struggled to keep up with deamnds of 'hyper users', such as data centres, which are often left to find their own power sources.
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