Google executives acknowledged that the massive data centers powering ChatGPT and other AI tools may be built using forced labor and child workers. The admission came during a panel discussion about the human rights crisis hiding behind AI’s rapid expansion.
Every time you use an AI chatbot, enormous data centers the size of small cities spring into action. These buildings need millions of tons of concrete, steel, and rare metals sourced from dozens of countries. The problem? Nobody knows if the workers mining and processing these materials are free or enslaved.
The Dark Side of AI’s Building Boom
The AI industry tracks its carbon footprint carefully but has made almost no effort to track whether its buildings were constructed with slave labor. This gap has become urgent as companies race to build new data centers. The U.S. alone has 5,000 data centers, and the industry plans to double its capacity by 2030.
At Grace Farms’ Design for Freedom summit, tech executives joined construction leaders to confront an uncomfortable truth. While the industry celebrates AI breakthroughs, workers at the far end of supply chains often face dangerous conditions in mines and processing facilities with little oversight.
Sharon Prince, who leads the initiative to eliminate forced labor from construction, says the data center boom represents one of the most urgent human rights challenges in tech today.
What Happens Next
Major tech companies are under pressure to audit their supply chains and ensure ethical sourcing. With 100 gigawatts of new data center capacity planned by 2030, the window to address these human rights issues is closing fast.
