Environmental activist Erin Brockovich warned this week that expanding AI data centers are siphoning electricity from entire regions [1].
The warning comes as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure creates unprecedented demand on power grids. Brockovich said that without transparency and regulation, these facilities could jeopardize the energy stability of surrounding residential communities [2].
During an interview broadcast on ViX and Univision’s YouTube channel, Brockovich compared the current energy crisis to the resource extraction of the past. "Data centers are the new oil, and we must make sure they don’t drain power from our neighborhoods," Brockovich said [2].
She noted that the power consumption of some AI data-center clusters is equivalent to a small city’s electricity demand [2]. This scale of consumption, she said, necessitates a shift in how companies report their energy usage to the public and regulators [2].
Brockovich also reflected on her legacy and the 2000 film starring Julia Roberts that chronicled her legal battle against Pacific Gas & Electric. That case resulted in a $333 million settlement [2] after she helped hundreds of people affected by contamination [2].
"Seeing Julia Roberts bring my story to the screen was surreal, but the fight for clean water and clean energy continues," Brockovich said [3].
While some reports focus on her personal life decades after the film, Brockovich continues to apply her experience in corporate accountability to new technological threats. She said the current expansion of AI must be met with the same scrutiny as the industrial pollution cases of the past [1], [2].
“"Data centers are the new oil, and we must make sure they don’t drain power from our neighborhoods."”
Brockovich's pivot toward AI infrastructure highlights a growing tension between the global race for computational dominance and local resource sustainability. As tech companies build massive data centers to support Large Language Models, the physical toll on electrical grids becomes a public health and utility issue, mirroring the environmental justice battles Brockovich fought in the 1990s.
