06/04/2026
The woman who took on a billion-dollar utility company and won is back — and this time her target is the AI boom reshaping the American landscape.
Erin Brockovich has launched an interactive online map at brockovichdatacenter.com that lets ordinary people report what's happening with data centers in their own backyards. The response was immediate. More than 1,800 reports poured in from 47 states in the first week alone. As of late May, communities had flagged concerns at 2,716 locations across the country.
Her argument is simple: the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence shouldn't come at the expense of the people living next to it. She points to data centers swallowing staggering volumes of water, straining electrical grids, pushing up demand for fossil fuels, and piling up electronic waste — all while creating very few permanent local jobs once construction ends.
Supporters say she's giving residents a voice they never had against some of the most powerful tech companies on earth. Critics counter that these facilities are the backbone of modern technology and the economy of the future, and that slowing them down means falling behind.
Now Brockovich is asking Americans a direct question: do you know what's being built near you — and who's paying the real price for it?
