- United States
- Utah
- Letter
I need you to support federal and local authority to regulate the AI industry's use of public resources, data collection practices, and environmental impacts. The federal government and municipalities must retain the power to set boundaries on this industry regardless of pressure from the administration.
Elon Musk's xAI in Memphis demonstrates exactly why regulation is essential. The company promised to build a $78 million water recycling plant in 2024, then canceled it indefinitely while continuing to drain up to 10 million gallons daily from the Memphis Sand Aquifer. This water is heated and released as steam, permanently removed from the local water cycle. Meanwhile, xAI operated 35 gas-burning turbines without a permit in Boxtown, a historic Black neighborhood already suffering high cancer and respiratory illness rates. Community members report developing asthma in the last 12 months from proximity to xAI's pollution. The NAACP filed suit last week for xAI illegally operating 27 turbines near a church, park, and elementary school.
Despite claiming $1.46 billion in losses last quarter, xAI just purchased an 800,000-square-foot warehouse in Mississippi for $20 billion in expansion. This pattern of broken promises, environmental damage, and regulatory violations will repeat nationwide without enforceable standards. Local governments and federal agencies need clear authority to protect drinking water, air quality, and community health from AI companies treating public resources as disposable.