AI Data Centers Linked to $5.4 Billion in Public Health Costs, Raising Concerns Over Environmental Impact

AI Linked to Growing Cancer Risk

As the artificial intelligence boom spirals to epic proportions, big tech companies are throwing heaps of cash into massive data centers throughout the world. Packed full of hardware to process AI queries, these data centers put out forest-melting levels of heat as they suck the life out of local energy grids and water tables to meet demand. They're incredibly noisy as well -- pumping incessant mechanical sounds into quiet neighborhoods and driving away wildlife. And unfortunately, the public cost of AI doesn't end there. New research by academics at UC Riverside and Caltech is warning that AI data centers are also taking a massive toll on human health, in the form of diseases like cancer and asthma. The study, which hasn't yet been peer-reviewed, looked at the production output of AI hardware over the past five years, found that air pollution resulting from AI development could cause as many as 1,300 premature cancer and asthma deaths per year by 2030. That's on top of a cost approaching nearly $20 billion a year from the collective burden of health treatment, missing wages, and lower school attendance as a result of diseases caused by AI runoff. In 2023 alone, the total cost of AI-connected illness was $1.5 billion, the paper found, in an eye-watering 20 percent increase from 2022. The issue of air pollution is easy to overlook, because in most cases, the data centers are powered by local coal burning plants, which tend to be disproportionately located near low-income and working-class communities. It also seems wherever they go, AI data centers drive up the local cost of electricity, saddling their host communities with a burden not shared by the rest of the country, let alone by Silicon Valley or big tech's Wall Street investors. And though households living closest to AI centers and power plants face the most immediate health issues, there's no telling how far the consequences of big tech's sky-high power use will spread. "Unlike carbon emissions, the health impacts caused by a data center in one region cannot be offset by cleaner air elsewhere," UC Riverside researcher Shaolei Ren told Ars Technica of the findings. AI's air pollution impacts can be best summarized like the nuclear meltdown of Chernobyl -- the deadly toxins spread far and wide with no respect for distance, affecting those in, around, and far away from the actual data center itself. "The data centers pay local property taxes to the county where they operate," Ren said in a press blurb about the study. "But this health impact is not just limited to a small community. Actually, it travels across the whole country, so those other places are not compensated at all." The authors of the study recommend tech companies adopt standard reporting procedures for air pollution and public health resulting from AI runoff -- something the immensely profitable ventures are unlikely to do willingly. A range of big tech companies investing heavily in AI, including Meta and Microsoft, pushed back against the research in statements to Ars. A Google spokesperson said that the paper "promotes an inaccurate emissions estimate generated under false pretenses, undermining the progress of clean energy resource growth and creating a false narrative of health harms." In other words, this line of inquiry is getting under their skin. With the AI market set to inflate to $900 billion by 2026, communities are beginning to ask who's really paying the cost for big tech's lucrative gambit -- and how much computer power we truly need to build a better world.

Big Tech data center buildouts have led to $5.4 billion in public health costs

Big Tech's growing use of data centers has created related public health costs valued at more than $5.4 billion over the past five years, in findings that highlight the growing impact of building artificial intelligence infrastructure. Air pollution derived from the huge amounts of energy needed to run data centers has been linked to treating cancers, asthma and other related issues, according to research from UC Riverside and Caltech. The academics estimated that the cost of treating illnesses connected to this pollution was valued at $1.5 billion in 2023, up 20 percent from a year earlier. They found that the overall cost was $5.4 billion since 2019. The issue is set to be exacerbated by the race to develop generative AI, which requires huge computing resources to train and power fast-developing large language models. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta have forecast AI spending could exceed $320 billion this year, up from $151 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, OpenAI and SoftBank last month unveiled plans for a massive $500 billion US AI infrastructure joint venture called "Stargate." The findings from UC Riverside and Caltech were derived by using a widely used modelling tool from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA model translates the estimated air quality and human health impacts into a monetary value. The estimates suggest Google generated the largest health costs of $2.6 billion over the five years between 2019 to 2023, followed by Microsoft, at $1.6 billion, and Meta, at $1.2 billion. Each company's associated public health cost rose year-on-year. Other firms, such as Amazon, were not included in the analysis as they do not release key data needed to model their impact. Data centers cause pollution through high electricity use, often sourced from fossil fuels. Back-up generators, needed in case of an outage, are commonly powered by diesel, which also contributes to air pollution. Meanwhile, the waste from the hardware such as chips can release harmful chemicals into the environment. Big Tech's impact on public health was calculated by distributing Google and Microsoft's North American electricity consumption figures over their US data center locations and using their public sustainability reports. For Meta they used its disclosed per-location electricity usage data, which the first two companies do not provide. The analysis does not account for the purchase of market-based instruments that are meant to represent investments in new renewable energy in the US and that tech companies buy to offset the pollution from their electricity consumption. These instruments include renewable energy certificates. Instead, the research focuses on the pollution generated in the specific area where the data is being processed, in an accounting approach known as "location based." "Unlike carbon emissions, the health impacts caused by a data center in one region cannot be offset by cleaner air elsewhere," said Shaolei Ren, associate professor at UC Riverside. Google, Meta and Microsoft said their usage of back-up generators was below the estimated levels for the research, which is based on a median estimate of usage from publicly disclosed levels. The companies did not give detailed, per-location figures for their usage of back-up generators. Google added that the health cost estimates were overstated and that it did not "account for our clean energy purchases in the local markets where we operate" and therefore "promotes an inaccurate emissions estimate generated under false pretences, undermining the progress of clean energy resource growth and creating a false narrative of health harms." The company added that its purchases enable it to achieve, on average, around 64 percent carbon-free energy. Microsoft said it was focused on "delivering significant local, economic, social and environmental benefits to the communities where we operate." Meta said it complies with air quality requirements and remains committed to "maintaining net zero greenhouse gas emissions for our global operations, building innovative and sustainable infrastructure, reporting transparently on our sustainability goal progress, and supporting the communities where we operate." Due to where data centers are located, such as West Virginia or Ohio, the health impact disproportionately affected lower-income households, according to the research. Ren said there was an opportunity for tech groups to reverse the trend of a "growing public health threat" by strategically placing their data centers in less populated locations to have less impact. According to a separate report by Berkeley Lab, supported by the Department of Energy, US data center energy use represented about 4 percent of total US electricity consumption in 2023 and is forecasted to rise to between 7 and 12 percent by 2028, driven largely by AI workload demand. "There is a concern around pollution as [AI] is energy intensive and people are using it more and more," said Antonis Myridakis, a lecturer in environmental sciences from Brunel University London. "It is an important factor contributing to air quality and public health, it is not something we can ignore." Additional reporting by Kenza Bryan and Camilla Hodgson © 2025 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

Google, Microsoft, And Meta Linked To $5.4 Billion In Health Costs As AI Data Centers Fuel Pollution Crisis In The US: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

A new study from UC Riverside and Caltech has found that pollution from Big Tech's data centers has cost the U.S. public health system an estimated $5.4 billion over the past five years. Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOG Google, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, and Meta Platforms Inc. META are among the biggest contributors. What Happened: Data centers, which power artificial intelligence models and cloud computing, consume vast amounts of electricity, much of it sourced from fossil fuels. Air pollution linked to these energy demands has been tied to increased cases of cancer, asthma, and other illnesses, researchers found, reported the Financial Times, citing the study. In 2023 alone, public health costs from data center-related pollution were estimated at $1.5 billion, up 20% from the previous year. Over the five years from 2019 to 2023, Google was responsible for the highest estimated health costs at $2.6 billion, followed by Microsoft at $1.6 billion and Meta at $1.2 billion. Read Next: Apple's iPad Turns 15 Today: Here's A Throwback To When Steve Jobs Explained Called It The 'Third Category' After Phones And Notebooks In response to the report, Google, Microsoft, and Meta pushed back on the findings, arguing that the research overestimated their pollution levels. Google told the publication that the estimates "promote an inaccurate emissions estimate generated under false pretenses." Microsoft pointed to its sustainability efforts, while Meta reiterated its commitment to "net zero greenhouse gas emissions." Google, Microsoft, and Meta did not immediately Benzinga's request for comments. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It Matters: The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, fueled by Big Tech's multi-billion-dollar investments, is expected to further increase data center pollution, the report noted. U.S. data centers accounted for 4% of the nation's electricity consumption in 2023, a figure that could rise to 12% by 2028, according to a Department of Energy-backed Berkeley Lab report. "Unlike carbon emissions, the health impacts caused by a data center in one region cannot be offset by cleaner air elsewhere," said Shaolei Ren, associate professor at UC Riverside, underscoring the local impact of air pollution. Ren suggested that tech companies could reduce the rising public health risk by building data centers in less populated areas. This would help minimize their impact. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, and Meta expect to spend over $320 billion on AI this year, up from $151 billion in 2023 and $246 billion in 2024. Last month, OpenAI and SoftBank Group SFTBY SFTBF also announced "Stargate," a $500 billion AI infrastructure project in the U.S. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Ex-OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever's AI Startup Valued At $30 Billion In Latest Funding Round: Report Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock AMZNAmazon.com Inc$216.53-0.02%OverviewGOOGAlphabet Inc$181.38-0.11%METAMeta Platforms Inc$683.00-0.08%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$408.00-0.05%SFTBFSoftBank Group Corp$62.270.69%SFTBYSoftBank Group Corp$30.35-%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs