Erin Brockovich has spent decades taking on some of the country's biggest environmental battles. Now, she's turning her attention to AI data centers. In an exclusive interview on Katie Couric's Next Question, Brockovich explains why she believes communities across America are being caught off guard by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure — and what prompted her to start investigating.

It all started one morning when she woke up to 30 to 40 emails from residents of the same community raising concerns about a proposed AI data center. Curious about what was happening, she created an online map where people could report what was going on in their own backyards.

Within days, the response had exploded. The site crashed twice because of the volume of submissions. Brockovich says the project has since collected nearly 16,000 reports from all 50 states.

"I was just gobsmacked," Brockovich tells Katie. "What started out as one town and curiosity really became the whole country." 

While many of the concerns remain anecdotal and researchers continue to study the full impacts of AI infrastructure, Brockovich says "the common thread is the exact same thing is happening to them no matter what state, what county or what city they reside in." For many residents, she says, "it feels like a takeover."

Why Brockovich says transparency is the real issue

For Brockovich, the issue isn't AI itself — it's how many of these projects are unfolding.

She says residents repeatedly told her they had little warning before massive data center projects moved into their communities. Some said they didn't learn about projects until construction was already underway, while others questioned why local officials had signed non-disclosure agreements during negotiations.

"If they're so great and if it's not any problem, why the secrecy?" Brockovich says, adding that the lack of transparency "does make it feel very sketchy."

But it wasn’t just residents who were left without critical info. Without mentioning names, she says she has been contacted by mayors, city council members, and even lieutenant governors who she says were “left in the dark” over the projects.

Brockovich says she'd like to see stronger oversight at both the local and state levels, with more information made public before projects move forward. She argues communities should know basic details upfront, including how large a facility will be, how much electricity and water it will require, who will pay for any new infrastructure, and what type of cooling systems it will use.

What worries her most: Water, electricity — and who's paying for it?

Part of the reason Brockovich wants more information upfront is because of the questions she says communities are asking about resources.

When Katie asks Brockovich about the concerns she's hearing about most, the conversation quickly turns to water and electricity.

Modern AI data centers require enormous amounts of electricity to power servers and, in many cases, significant amounts of water to keep equipment cool. (According to the International Energy Agency, traditional data centers typically use between 10 and 25 megawatts of power, while hyperscale AI data centers can exceed 100 megawatts — roughly enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes.)

Brockovich argued that AI data centers put pressure on "every single resource." She says residents fear higher electricity and water bills, increasing strain on local resources, and the loss of land and water to large corporations.

Some of Brockovich's concerns are reflected in independent research. The International Energy Agency projects that electricity demand from data centers will roughly double by 2030, driven largely by AI, and says some regions may need significant investments in power generation and transmission to accommodate that growth. The agency also notes that improvements in energy efficiency, cooling technology and grid planning could help reduce those impacts.

She's not anti-AI

One point Brockovich was eager to make during the interview: She's not opposed to artificial intelligence itself.

"AI is one thing. Data centers are another," she tells Katie.

Her concern isn't the technology — it's how the massive facilities that power AI are planned and built. She argues communities deserve greater transparency, stronger environmental oversight, and a meaningful say before projects move forward.

If these projects are going to be built responsibly, Brockovich says there should be oversight "from the get-go" at both the local and state levels, with key information shared upfront.

"Send in a proposal,” she says. “We want to know what's the size. Who's going to fund the electricity? Who's going to pay for the water?"

Why she says this issue is different

Perhaps Brockovich's biggest takeaway wasn't about artificial intelligence at all.

After more than three decades of advocacy, Brockovich says she's never seen an issue unite Americans quite like this one.

"In 30 years of doing this type of environmental work, I have never seen a bipartisan issue like this," she says. Brockovich adds that protecting natural resources "shouldn't be political" and says she was encouraged to see people "on both sides of the aisle" speaking up.

She ends the interview with a message that has guided much of her career — and one she believes applies just as much to AI infrastructure as it did to the consumer and public health fights that first made her famous.

"Our land, our water, our health and our air are the greatest gifts we have," Brockovich says. "Every one of those resources is worth fighting for."