Image from xAI  website

Welcome to the DataCenter DataCenter (DC:DC)

Many cities and towns now house data centers. Here we zoom in on the Memphis-Mississippi border, where xAI is developing a supercomputer cluster against community concerns. This website is both a targeted lens on a specific locale and a window into AI’s infrastructural expansion.

xAI launched its first facility in 2024, located in Southwest Memphis, TN. Two additional facilities, Colossus II and MACROHARDRR, are now in production on either side of the Memphis-Mississippi line. Each header of the website explores a facet of the xAI data center case. We recommend starting with the StoryMap, providing a place-based account of the story and its stakes.

This website benefited from and compiled data through community advocacy groups, especially Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), Young, Gifted & Green, Protect our Aquifer, and Tigers Against Pollution.

About the DC:DC Team

The DC:DC was first created by doctoral students enrolled in AI & Society at Vanderbilt University (Fall ‘25). The site is maintained and updated by Professor Jenny Davis and the students in her lab. Data collection and collation have been guided throughout by VU library staff.

Special thanks to Law Librarian Katie Hanschke and GIS expert Alyssa Sklar. Social Science Librarian Pam Morgan was our resident information expert and a core contributor across the project.

  • headshot of woman with dark hair and plaid collar

    Prof. Jenny L. Davis

    AI & SOCIETY INSTRUCTOR

  • Headshot of woman with long dark straight hair

    Pamela Morgan

    SOCIAL SCIENCE LIBRARIAN

    (Medicine Health & Society, Sociology, Environmental Sociology, Public Policy Studies)

  • Headshot of woman with long dark hair and yellow sweater

    Alina Caulfield

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • woman with dark hair, black sweater, and light jeans standing on grass in front of stone building. Arms crossed.

    Basma El-Bathy

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Woman with long blonde hair and blue plaid sweater.

    Sarah Koch

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Headshot of man with dark hair, blue sweater, and light collar.

    Noah Lian

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Headshot of man with dark hair, dark suit, light collared shirt and dark tie.

    Blake Powell

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • headshot of man with light and and glasses wearing a gray polo shirt.

    Gavin Riley

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Headshot of man with dark hair, white collared shirt, dark suit jacket and red tie.

    Michael Segovia

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Woman standing in dark suit with white top. Long dark hair. Arms crossed.

    Hayoung Seo

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

  • Headshot of woman with dark hair pulled back in a sleeveless white top.

    Vivian Sun

    DOCTORAL STUDENT

About our Logo

Our logo was made without AI. It is a simple icon, representing the project and website’s title (DC:DC for the DataCenter DataCenter). Beneath the top two letters are a shadowed and emergent replication. This represents data centers’ persistent growth and propagation within communities and across the globe.