The Real Cost of AI Will Shock You
Be Smart
Oct 22, 2026 15:25
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If you ask what is the environmental impact of AI, you’ll get two answers. One says it’s minimal and worth it. The other says it’s an environmental catastrophe. So what's the truth? We went looking for the real answers, and found something much stranger than we expected. Whatever you think about AI, somebody is already paying for it. Who, and how much? That's what we are here to find out.
Sources/References: https://sites.google.com/view/data-centers-impacts/home
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Want to dive deeper? Our friends at The Texas Tribune published a project called “The Next Texas Gold Rush” with the support of the Pulitzer Center that looks closely at the data center boom here in Texas–its environmental impacts, the political influences and tensions behind it, and the local reactions to it. Check it out! https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/next-texas-gold-rush-data-centers-and-their-impacts
Be Smart explores science questions you didn’t even know you wondered about. It is hosted and produced by Joe Hanson, PhD. We post new videos all the time, so please subscribe! If you enjoyed this video, hit the ‘like’ button, leave a comment, or watch another of our videos!
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Stock video and images provided by Shutterstock, Artlist, and MotionArray
Music provided by APM
Written Joe Hanson
Edited by Steven Simone
Produced by Least Square Media and Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios
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