As debate grows around AI data centers, much of the discussion has focused on how to power them, fossil fuels versus renewable energy. But this framing misses a more fundamental question: How much AI infrastructure should we be building in the first place?
Even when powered by renewable energy, large-scale data centers require vast amounts of land, water and transmission infrastructure. Solar arrays, cooling systems, and high-voltage lines all carry real environmental and community costs. These are not impact-free solutions.
At the same time, the United States still lacks comprehensive federal regulation of artificial intelligence, even as other nations move ahead with national frameworks to guide its development and limits. We are racing to expand an industry whose growth appears unlimited, without first deciding what serves the public good.
Technology should be driven by need, not greed. Until we ask who truly benefits, and who bears the burden, we risk building more than we can justify, and more than our communities can sustain.
Gail Neustadt
Sewickley