Opinion | This Town’s Minerals Make A.I. Possible. Then Came Hurricane Helene.
· Source: nytimes.com
In short
The article examines the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, particularly how the AI industry's reliance on minerals from places like Spruce Pine, North Carolina creates ecological vulnerabilities. Hurricane Helene's devastation of this mining town reveals how AI's infrastructure demands for power, water and land threaten both the environment and the industry's own supply chain. The piece argues that AI's environmental costs are becoming increasingly apparent and could jeopardize the technology's future sustainability.
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In the issue of week 39, 2025: Agentic AI Drives Supply Chain Autonomy, Cutting Costs and Boosting Throughput
Tags: minerals, environment, supply-chain, sustainability, mining, infrastructure