Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
 

Everyone talks about “AI taking over the world.” But the real story? It’s unfolding in Indiana. A field of steel and dust where seven data centers already stand. And twenty-three more are coming.

These things drink electricity like soda on a hot day. More than 500 megawatts per campus, enough to power two Atlantas. And that’s just one site.

Worldwide, about $375 billion will be poured into AI infrastructure this year. Next year, half a trillion. Nvidia (NVDA), OpenAI, Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), all building as if the boom will never stop. Only… the profits aren’t showing up yet.

Data centers age faster than a new iPhone. Chips are outdated before the paint dries. And much of the investment money just loops around: an AI firm rents compute from a chipmaker, the chipmaker reinvests the cash into that same AI firm. It looks like growth, but it’s mostly air being recycled.

If the promised productivity gains don’t arrive, this could turn into the biggest infrastructure bubble since the railroads or the fiber-optic craze. And if it does work, it may still cost us jobs, power, and peace of mind. There’s no outcome without fallout.

Meanwhile, AP News notes that countries like Ireland are already hitting their energy limits. Half of the electricity goes to servers. People are complaining about empty grids and rising bills.

So yeah. AI is booming. But maybe it’s booming a little too hard on ground that’s starting to crack under its own weight.

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