Judge says xAI must face NAACP lawsuit on data center pollution

A US federal judge has ruled that artificial intelligence company xAI must face a lawsuit over pollution from its data centre operations in Memphis, Tennessee. District Judge Debra M. Brown denied a request to dismiss the legal action brought by the NAACP, which accuses Elon Musk's company of violating the Clean Air Act by running unpermitted methane gas turbines. The firm argued the case should be thrown out because the turbines were mobile and therefore exempt from permit rules. However, Judge Brown determined the power plant supplying the data centre was not mobile. The Justice Department had backed xAI's bid to dismiss the suit, stating the firm's operations form a vital part of US military operations.