by Audrey Streb
The Daily Caller
As Big Tech develops more artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, advocates flaunt the promise of more jobs and innovation, while others warn about the impending power crunch and potential antitrust issues as a handful of companies could dominate the power sector.
Former Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that he’s concerned antitrust issues will arise over energy as data centers burn through mass amounts of power, potentially at the expense of local communities. Since data centers burn through so much power, they could dominate the energy sector as they drive up costs for the consumer, though several energy policy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that expanding AI is necessary despite the power problems it poses.
“Looking ahead, energy, power is going to be an extremely important area of focus for antitrust enforcers,” Kanter told the WSJ. “Data centers consume more natural resources, and the cost of power goes up, and data centers consume power at the expense of local communities and businesses.”
The Trump administration unveiled an AI plan on July 23 which included the rapid build-out of data centers and noted the vitality of surpassing China in the AI race, all while several energy policy experts, grid watchdogs and the Department of Energy (DOE) warned that America’s already insecure power grid is being strained by soaring data center demand.
