The AI Boom Has a Bill. Who’s Paying?

AI may be the future—but the data centers powering it are already putting unprecedented pressure on the present. They require enormous amounts of electricity and water and can place a disproportionate burden on the communities where they’re built. The question is no longer whether we’ll build the infrastructure for an AI-powered world. It’s whether we can build it as cleaner, smarter, and more equitable. From renewable energy and grid resilience to next-generation cooling and water conservation, this panel explores a defining question for the AI era: Can we power the future without burning through the resources and communities we need to sustain it?