Who told EPA that xAI’s turbines need a permit? The turbine industry did.
The companies that build portable gas turbines told EPA that machines like the ones at xAI's sites need air permits. Shelby County and Mississippi told the public the opposite. The industry's own lawyer put it in writing.
Just Unplug AI? Why It Won’t Happen
AI isn't the Coke machine in the cafeteria. It's holding up the roof.
Did the University of Memphis just settle the xAI air fight?
The study told the council pollution mostly went down. Its own limitations slide says there are no field monitoring data for Southwest Memphis at all.
How did 68 of xAI’s turbines get into Mississippi with no permit?
Memphis fought about the turbines it could see. A bigger power plant went up seven tenths of a mile away on one email - and the agency that said yes told me it hadn't been out to look.
Yes, AI could destroy us all. But not how you think it will.
The real villains are the usual suspects.
OpenAI and Anthropic Both Found Out in July They’d Lost Control of Their AI. Shutting It Down Won’t Save Us.
A researcher just quit Anthropic saying AI could kill us all by the end of the decade. I think he's right about the danger and completely wrong about the fix.
An update on the air around xAI’s Colossus 1
The Shelby County Health Department's first statement on the South Memphis air monitor, what EPA's own grant file says instead, and the road the mayor paused.
News update: Texas readers named the site, and it’s Grimes County
I posted this on Facebook on September 7. It lives here too so it’s on the record. This morning I told you xAI’s job listing for a gas power plant had moved from Memphis to Texas, and nobody would say where. Three folks gave me some leads in the comments. I spent the afternoon checking,…
News update: a SpaceXAI job listing for a Doosan gas plant moved from Memphis to Texas
I posted this on Facebook on September 7. It lives here too so it’s on the record. Hey Texas, this one’s for you. Last week I wrote about how xAI’s job listings tell you what the company’s doing before the company does. Another one just turned up, but this one is in Texas. A Korean…
Who pays for xAI’s power?
Sixteen data centers, a 1.28 million gallon cap, a $152 million check to TVA, and 15 orders to cut back - what MLGW's CEO told the council, and what the records say.
xAI’s Tesla Megapacks sit over the aquifer. Shelby County never planned for them.
The xAI files Every essay in this series is pinned to a question on the board at rachelandthecity.com/the-xai-files. UPDATE, October 19th: A small correction. The plan’s table of contents lists five hazards, but only four are written up - flooding, severe weather, extreme heat and cold, and earthquake. The disease section is listed but never…
The Latest on the Data Center Moratorium
Twelve months, no new data center permits. The council's own attorney named two ways the pause could end early, and nobody will sign the survey going around.