Mississippi residents sue Musk’s xAI and SpaceX over data centre ‘nuisance’

The AI boom is ‘wreaking havoc’ on communities across the US by subjecting residents to near-constant noise and vibrations, the lawsuit said.Elon Musk’s xAI and SpaceX have been sued by Mississippi residents who say a power plant fuelling nearby data centres is blasting “omnipresent and inescapable” noise that has eroded their health and home values.The lawsuit, made public on Tuesday in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, claims Musk’s companies negligently failed to curb the disturbance and created a public nuisance through excessive and offensive noise. Three residents filed the case on behalf of a class estimated at more than 10,000 members.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4New video of great white shark in Mediterranean goes virallist 2 of 4World Cup opening ceremony: Who’s performing, when it starts, how to watchlist 3 of 4Mexico prepares for World Cup opening match amid protestslist 4 of 4Canada confirms opening of Gordie Howe Bridge, despite Trump’s threatsend of list“The Artificial Intelligence [AI] boom is wreaking havoc on communities across the United States” by subjecting thousands of residents to near-constant noise and vibrations, the lawsuit said.The plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged emotional distress, reduced property values and other harms, as well as disgorgement of an unspecified amount in profits.SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency. MZX Tech, an xAI subsidiary, was also named as a defendant. Musk is not a defendant.A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Robert Wiygul, said in a statement, “Our homes are supposed to be a sanctuary for us against the world.” However, he added, “When they are invaded by noise 24 hours a day, it takes that fundamental peace of a good and decent life away from us.”More than $20bn was invested by xAI to build the plant at Southaven with the backing of Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Gas-fired turbines at Southaven power data centres in and around Southaven, the lawsuit said.