Energy pressure: AI reproduces crypto mining mistakes

We love artificial intelligence because it makes our lives simpler. In every app, from photo editing to voice assistant, AI is discreetly present. It guides us, entertains us and promises to revolutionize entire industries. But behind the screen, the reality is less glamorous: AI requires considerable energy. And as in the past for Bitcoin, this quest for computing power today comes up against social, environmental and energy limits.

AI & territories: when the 4th revolution hits the ground

Artificial intelligence does not only circulate in data: it also lives in gigantic data centers. These computing factories, scattered throughout the United States, require gigawatts of electricity, robust networks and imposing infrastructure.

However, in Oregon, Virginia, Texas and Georgia, citizens and local elected officials are starting to say stop.

These new resistances are reminiscent of an episode well known to bitcoin enthusiasts: the tensions that arose when BTC miners clashed with local communities, concerned about noise pollution and soaring electricity bills. At the time, promises of jobs and tax revenue were not enough to appease local residents.

Today, it is AI data centers that are experiencing this reversal of opinion. According to the report Data Center Watchprojects totaling $64 billion have been blocked or delayed by citizen groups, municipal votes and legal challenges.

Faced with these tensions, companies are trying to adapt their approaches. Some say they want better dialogue, others promise to finance energy costs.

However, residents remain on their guard. They believe that the “AI revolution” must not sacrifice the living environment, local taxation or the sustainability of their electricity networks.

AI follows the same trajectory as bitcoin: energy first, social acceptance later

History repeats itself. As demand for computing increases, AI is emerging as a new source of energy pressure. And this pressure is not abstract: it directly affects regions which, a few years earlier, had already seen BTC mining farms flourish.

These same regions are today in demand by hyperscalers, gigantic technology companies that build data centers for AI.

Critics point to fears of impacts on local networks, electricity networks, groundwater, and even energy prices. What was a discreet, almost invisible activity has now become a local electoral subject.

And it’s no longer just a matter for engineers or crypto traders; it became a public debate.

The situation illustrates a paradox: AI, which should improve our daily lives, is perceived as a threat when it requires too much electricity or too many resources. It is precisely this same energy model that bitcoin had already highlighted.

The nuclear bet and AI: a headlong rush or a real energy future?

Faced with what could become an impasse, some players are exploring bold strategies. This is the case in Texas, where the company Fermi America plans to build an AI mega-campus powered by nuclear energy.

THE Project Matador combines AP1000 reactors and very high density data centers, a fiscal and political gift supported by Washington. This energy model aims to meet the explosive demand for AI without relying on local grid constraints.

But this solution carries its own risks. Local communities fear not only the environmental impact of heavy infrastructure, but also an unequal redistribution of benefits.

The specter of a new “digital extractivism” looms large: technologies that benefit large players, costs assumed by local authorities.

And even beyond the planet, other minds are already dreaming of data centers outside the world. In more futuristic proposals, engineers suggest placing servers in Earth orbit, powered by space solar energy, to circumvent network limitations.

But these ideas still remain experimental, expensive and far from the political realities of the moment.

The energy choice that the world will make for AI is not neutral. It will say whether we want innovative, sustainable and shared growth, or a simple repetition of the mistakes of the past.

Quantified benchmarks: energy, AI, bitcoin and data centers

• $64 billion: data center projects blocked or delayed in the United States;
• 142: citizen groups active against these projects;
• 12%: Projected share of global electricity consumed by AI by 2028 (industry estimate);
• 18 million m²: planned surface area of ​​the IA nuclear campus Fermi America ;
• $89,527: price of bitcoin (BTC) at the time of writing.

Automation and artificial intelligence are transforming not only energy but also work. Some are already warning that the speed of AI could destroy traditional jobs. As CZ pointed out, technological progress endangers entire professions. In this landscape, crypto, and particularly bitcoin, could be seen as a financial refuge solution for displaced workers.