The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers built by Big Tech companies — including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon — is having a massive environmental impact. However, according to a Mongabay report, some regions are feeling the effects more than others.
What's happening?
Mongabay explained that AI data centers are far larger and more resource-intensive than their recent predecessors. To keep up with the AI boom, each facility contains thousands of servers, miles of cabling, and massive computing loads.
"A single AI campus can be bigger than a small town," Mongabay reported.
The energy demands of these operations are staggering. Global data center electricity use is projected to hit roughly 536 terawatt-hours this year, per the outlet. That's about 2% of all global energy use. As AI workloads accelerate, that figure could double by 2030.
All that power produces intense heat, forcing centers to rely on extensive cooling systems — many of which depend heavily on fresh water. By 2027, AI centers may require up to 6.4 trillion liters of water annually. That's the equivalent of nearly 2.8 million Olympic-sized pools.
On top of energy and water strain, data centers consume tremendous quantities of raw materials. Copper is especially critical for wiring and other key components. Mongabay reported that it may be necessary to mine as much copper in the next 25 years as has been mined in all of history to meet demand. Meanwhile, servers and components are replaced quickly, generating significant e-waste. With less than 25% of global e-waste properly recycled, most of it poses long-term pollution risks.
However, all of this taxing development isn't happening in the wealthy countries where AI is most used. Instead, low-income countries in the Global South are being overrun with massive data centers because they offer cheap land and labor, weak environmental regulations, and abundant natural resources that Big Tech can tap with limited oversight.
Critics argue that this rapid AI expansion is "extractive colonialism," in which wealthy northern tech companies deploy resource-intensive infrastructure in poorer regions of the Global South. This is often with little regard for local communities' water, energy, or environmental needs.
"This type of Big Tech exploitation … seems to echo older forms of extractive colonialism seen in the tobacco, cotton, coffee, and sugar plantations that once fed Global North tastes and addictions," Mongabay reported.
Why is this important?
Simply put, AI users are often removed from the environmental and human toll of the booming tech. Understanding the true impact of AI is essential for creating a more sustainable — and more accountable — future for the sector.
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Definitely 👍 "We really need to talk about what is an appropriate level of technological progress," Bryan Bixcul, global coordinator at the SIRGE Coalition, told Mongabay.
Internet users are adopting AI at a rapid pace for everything from simple entertainment to professional work — and that boom is leading to an increase in energy- and resource-intensive data centers. As these facilities burn through enormous amounts of resources, critics warn their growing footprint could undermine global efforts to cut carbon pollution.
As global temperatures rise because of climate shifts, many low-income tropical regions are already experiencing water insecurity due to drought. With data centers entering the picture, some communities — such as residents of Querétaro state in Mexico — are concerned their already depleted resources will go toward cooling data centers rather than supporting local communities.
"Water is what's needed for the people, not for these industries," Querétaro campaigner Teresa Roldán told the BBC.
AI data centers are also driving additional demand for dirty energy sources like oil and coal, complicating global climate goals and slowing the transition to cleaner energy. Currently, dirty energy sources provide nearly 60% of data center power. With AI adoption rapidly expanding, that number could rise to keep up with demand.
What's being done to monitor AI's expansion?
The short answer: not much — especially on a global scale.
Most countries still lack clear policies governing where, how, or how quickly data centers can expand. That means Big Tech often makes decisions with little oversight or local input. In many low-income countries, governments even welcome these projects as a means of economic growth, despite the environmental trade-offs.
While researchers and nonprofits have begun to track and measure the environmental cost of AI infrastructure, there is still no global standard for reporting energy, water, or material use — and most available data comes from voluntary corporate disclosures that aren't independently verified. Basically, this means tech companies are self-publishing sustainability reports that may (or may not) be entirely transparent.
While some regions now require data center operators to report their energy and water consumption, these efforts are concentrated mainly in wealthier northern countries. As Mongabay highlighted, much of the fastest AI growth is happening in regions with the weakest oversight.
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