AI, and the immense amount of computer cooling it demands, is already infamous for its water consumption. Its environmental damage isn’t strictly limited to one element. In fact, two small towns are discovering the cascading effects encapsulating all flora and fauna. Google is currently under investigation from Finnish authorities over illegal deforestation operations to construct data centers. Making matters worse, the environmental collapse has reportedly caused wolves to invade the surrounding villages instead of the responsible parties.
Earlier in October, The Guardian reported on demands from Finnish authorities that Google halt construction on two data centers. After already bulldozing over 1,000 acres of trees between the Muhos and Kajaani sites, the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority said the company and their contractor had done so illegally. Skipping the approval process and environmental assessments for such staggering deforestation. Google’s Antti Järvinen said the company acted “on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time.”
With so much damage done already, the Guardian followed up with locals to discover how quickly these data centers can compromise day to day life. On top of the nearly half-million fallen trees and the giant range of mud replacing them, locals are now facing a weirder problem. And oh, what sharp teeth it has.
“We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest,” Kajaani local Anni Ranta told The Guardian. “I don’t want them [Google] in Finland at all. I don’t like the whole idea of AI and the world changing and the way it’s changing. It’s going too fast, too soon.”
Ranta told the reporter that the wolves were scared off, but it illustrates a phenomenon happening around the globe. As more humans gather in urban centers, and as the peripheral forestation gets chewed up, the lack of food and increasing comfort around people is encouraging wilder animals to head to the big city. Many cities are experiencing population booms in wildlife unseen in previous generations, from coyotes, to foxes, to, yes, wild boars.
As this Finnish incident suggests, the desperation to invest in AI may speed up the timeline from decades to a fortnight. While environmental issues have fallen from much of the public’s radar, it hasn’t made the campaign for AI growth any easier. Data center construction is proving to be so universally unpopular that even Jason Kelce is scoring points on them.
