Vulnerable People and Places Blog

      Have you ever wondered what's actually going on with new AI data centers? There's more to it than most people realize. The technological components of one of these new data centers are not just about the power of AI, but risks that people seem to underestimate. Because of the rapid growth of AI in corporations and it's seemingly limitless capability has made things move quicker in investing in this opportunity. The convenience of more productivity being automated, has a bigger cost that everyday citizens see and experience.      The expansion of AI data centers across the United States takes up a lot of land, and the amount of power used constantly is not good for our environment. With long-term planning and interconnection, issues arise such as imbalances of how long it takes data centers to be built, which can be a couple of years. In that time of construction, the county or region the data center is being built on could have drastic changes an...

      Powering the Future: Can Oregon’s Energy Grid Keep Up with the Technology Boom?”   In my previous blog, I explored how Oregon became one of the nation’s fastest-growing locations for data centers and the hidden resources required to power our digital lives. But behind every server, every AI request, and every cloud service is one resource that makes it all possible: electricity. As technology continues to expand across Oregon, the question is no longer just where the future will be built is whether we have enough power to support it. Since writing my previous blog, “The Cloud Lives Here: Oregon’s Data Center Boom and the Hidden Cost Behind Every Click,” the conversation surrounding data centers has continued to evolve. In Hillsboro, city leaders have taken steps to pause and re-evaluate future data center development while studying the long-term impacts on infrastructure, energy, water, and land use. These discussions are not happening in isolation. Acr...

     You wake up tomorrow, and you have a robot to do everything for you. It makes you breakfast. It cleans your house. It drives you places. You can ask it any question. It can even tell you what to watch! Sounds pretty great right? It kind of is. While WALL-E takes you on a humorous journey, it also provides us with some insight to a world where we let technology consume our lives. WALL-E was made in 2008, but there are some lessons from the movie that are even more applicable today. WALL-E: What Does the Movie Have to Do With Artificial Intelligence? When Earth is too full of trash, humans are forced to live on a gigantic spaceship called the Axiom. While living on the Axiom, everyone has robots wait on them hand and foot. People spend their days sitting in swivel chairs. Staring at screens. Robots spoon-feed them meals and allow them to be completely helpless. Even though the humans in WALL-E have it pretty good, they have become overly dependent on technology. This i...

      Artificial intelligence is starting to play a role in content creation on social media platforms. Hours of filming, editing, and writing captions can now be done in minutes with AI. Whether it’s AI generating videos and captions or editing photos and pitching you ideas, AI is becoming heavily used to create social media content. Apps like TikTok and Instagram have allowed AI to help creators in many different ways. AI has opened many new doors for content creators. Whether you are a small business or an everyday creator who may not have had the funds to pay for an editor, graphic designer, or social media team. Artificial intelligence has allowed people to create content that looks like a professional made it. Many content creators have used AI to gain more followers, get sponsorships, and create opportunities for themselves where they are now able to make a living from social media. Along with the ability to quickly create content, AI allows you to discover pr...

  Artificial intelligence often goes unnoticed. When we ask a question, create an image, use navigation, or save something online, we get results in seconds. Most of us do not see the systems working behind the scenes. AI relies on large data centers packed with computers that handle and store a lot of information.  As AI expands, the need for these centers is rising too. Data centers can create jobs, attract investment, and introduce new technology to communities, but they also use electricity, water, land, and other resources. This is important for Oregon. The state already has data centers, and more could mean new economic opportunities. Still, people in these communities wonder how much energy these centers use and what their long-term environmental impact might be. Rising electricity demand highlights why this topic is important. The International Energy Agency says that data centers worldwide used about 415 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024. They expect this number...

 Data centers promise progress. They power AI, cloud storage, streaming, and many of the online services we use every day. They can also bring investment and jobs into Oregon. In fact, state economic analysis estimates that data centers support thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity across Oregon.  But there is another side of the story that deserves our attention.  Data centers require enormous infrastructure. They need land, electricity, and sometimes large amounts of water. As more facilities are built, communities have to ask an important question: Who receives the benefits, and who is responsible for the costs? This question is especially relevant right here in Oregon. In Hillsboro, the rapid expansion of data centers has created controversy over tax incentives, water and energy use, farmland, and how much control local communities have over development decisions. In June 2026, 1000 Friends of Oregon and other community groups filed a lawsuit ...