WHERE THE MONEY GOES
I put a portion of every project into organizations actually fighting this.
Most AI is being built and deployed without any accountability for what it costs — in energy, in water, in who bears the consequences. I'm not going to pretend a software build fixes that. But I can be precise about where the dollars go and why.
These four organizations are doing specific, verifiable work on the AI accountability fight. Not general environmental causes. Not carbon offsets. The actual fight.
AI Now Institute
New York, NY · 501(c)(3) · Founded 2017
AI accountabilityResearch institute studying how AI concentrates power and who pays the price. They accept zero funding from the tech companies they study.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE
Published the 2023 Landscape report on tech power concentration that shaped how regulators approach AI oversight. In 2021, three of their senior staff were appointed to the FTC's Office of Policy Planning to advise on AI policy. Their 2026 work focuses directly on AI infrastructure's energy and grid implications.
Learn moreDistributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)
Oakland, CA · Fiscally sponsored 501(c)(3) · Founded 2021
AI accountabilityFounded by Dr. Timnit Gebru after Google fired her for publishing research they didn't like. Built explicitly to operate outside Big Tech's funding orbit.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE
Launched Surveillance Watch, tracking who builds and deploys surveillance AI globally. Produced peer-reviewed research using satellite imagery to document the geographic legacy of apartheid in South Africa — led by a researcher from the townships being studied. One of the only AI research institutes with no corporate tech funders and a community-first research model.
Learn moreSouthern Environmental Law Center
Charlottesville, VA · 501(c)(3) · Founded 1986
Legal / litigationOver 160 legal and policy experts across the Southeast. When research and policy aren't enough, someone has to file the brief.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE
Representing the NAACP in an April 2026 federal Clean Air Act lawsuit against xAI for operating 27 unpermitted methane gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi to power its Colossus 2 data center. After SELC sent a prior notice of intent to sue over Colossus 1, xAI removed its unpermitted turbines there and obtained permits. A preliminary injunction request is now before the court seeking to halt the Colossus 2 turbines immediately.
Learn morePublic Citizen Energy Program
Washington, DC · 501(c)(3) · Founded 1971
Policy / regulatoryThe only consumer watchdog consistently showing up at FERC on AI infrastructure. Grassroots-funded. No corporate sponsors.
WHAT THEY'VE DONE
Intervened as a party in FERC proceedings on transmission rate agreements between ComEd and data center developers including PowerHouse, Equinix, and QTS — cases that would determine whether households absorb the cost of AI infrastructure. In April 2026, also called on FERC to impose a moratorium on new data center grid interconnections, citing reliability risks confirmed by NERC.
Learn more