Why Erin Brockovich Created a Map of AI Data Centers, and Where You Can Find It

Consumer advocate / environmental activist Erin Brockovich became a household name in 2000 thanks to Julia Roberts portraying her in the film aptly named Erin Brockovich. The movie was a dramatization of Erin's real-life legal battle with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company over its participation in contaminating the groundwater in Hinkley, California.

Since then, Erin has continued to fight for causes she believes in, using her newfound fame to amass public support for her work. Now, in her latest battle, the activist is taking on AI data centers, as Erin has created a map of their locations.

As AI data centers continue to pop up, much to local residents' dismay, Erin has taken it upon herself to alert the public as to exactly where these locations currently are and are projected to be in the future.

The map in question contains data centers that are already operational, those under construction, and those that have been proposed but are not yet a certainty. She also included community-reported data centers in the comprehensive map. So far, the map points out well over 3,000 AI data centers.

In a note on Erin's website, she explained, "The race to build AI infrastructures is unfolding town by town across America. In some places, data centers are welcomed. In others, they are delayed, contested, or abandoned altogether. This map captures the real-world footprint of that race — revealing patterns of growth, conflict, and uncertainty."

She continued with the personal sentiment of, "I am watching as you, the communities, show up and speak out. In the famous words of Mark Twain, 'The secret of getting ahead is getting started,' so let’s go."

In the Q&A section of her website, Erin further explains that she created the map in order "To give people a voice and help everyone across all states see the bigger picture of how rapidly AI data centers are being developed. The public should not be the last to know."

She also went on to explain that there are over 4,000 data centers in the U.S., so not all of them are included in the map. Rather, she only included the ones that nearby residents have expressed concern about, as some of the 4,000+ data centers have been around for years and not had a known negative impact on their neighbors.

While many people seemed to agree with Erin's intentions, they felt that her execution was a bit lacking. As one person pointed out on this Reddit thread, "Most of those are 'community reported' with no further data beyond a zip code and report date. It would be nice to have a little more info. How many of these are gigantic water-guzzling supercenters and how many are a couple of server racks in someone's office?"

Another person echoed that sentiment with, "I'm looking at a 'data center' near where I live, and it's a hangar on an airfield. The site is good for official reporting, but the community one looks like overly concerned citizens reporting any large warehouse building." Meanwhile, a third person awkwardly pointed out, "The irony is this [Erin's] site looks 100% designed by Claude."