Overview

• SZA’s July 15–16 Instagram messages described AI as “killing and polluting” Black and brown cities and urged followers to research its energy and water demands.
• She highlighted xAI’s Colossus facility in Memphis, which uses power equivalent to 100,000 homes and consumes 1.5 million gallons of water daily, as emblematic of environmental racism.
• MIT research shows that training large AI models demands vast electricity and cooling water, driving up carbon emissions and stressing local grids and water supplies.
• The Southern Environmental Law Center and Memphis community groups are challenging xAI over unpermitted gas turbines and potential permitting violations that worsen pollution in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
• SZA’s high-profile critique has intensified demands for stricter oversight of AI infrastructure and inspired advocacy for accountability in tech facility siting.