Digital Colonialism, a series co-produced by Nonprofit Quarterly and MediaJustice, explores how the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is reshaping communities across the United States. Centering stories from across the country, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia, the series amplifies the voices of organizers, community leaders, and residents sounding the alarm on environmental and public health risks related to data centers. By examining gaps in policy, community resistance, and hard-won victories, Digital Colonialism maps out what’s at stake—and what a just path forward could look like.
The series kicks off with “How MediaJustice Is Leading Communities to Push Back Against AI Data Centers” by Myaisha Hayes, MediaJustice’s Senior Movement Building Director. She outlines how Trump’s AI Action plan enables the current state of the AI race, how Memphis Community Against Pollution exposed Elon Musk’s Colossus data center’s illegally-operated gas turbines, and how MediaJustice is convening organizers to intervene against Big Tech and data centers in their communities.
This series is edited and curated by Iris M. Crawford, an NPQ Editor and climate journalist, and our own Myaisha Hayes.
