Single mum’s house set to be ‘destroyed’ by AI centre

When Angela Hall bought her rural home more than two decades ago, it meant more to her than most.

The 49-year-old single mother had clawed her way out of public housing and into home ownership, securing a property she hoped to one day leave to her granddaughter.

Now, she says the dream she worked so hard for is being forcefully taken from her. 

Hall and her daughter, Ansley Brown, have been told to leave their Georgia home by August this year to make way for the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centres across the United States.

“My childhood home is being taken,” Brown said in a TikTok video.

The family claims utility giant Georgia Power plans to acquire and demolish the home and surrounding land to make way for transmission infrastructure needed to support the new AI facilities planned throughout the region.

Across parts of Georgia, once-rural communities are being changed by data centre developments in the race to build the infrastructure needed to power AI tools and cloud computing systems.

Brown claims representatives from Georgia Power began appearing in their Coweta County neighbourhood about a year ago, conducting surveys and assessments before locals received notices saying their land could be acquired by the government without consent. 

Georgia Power plans to build more than thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines across the state to update its power grid. In this specific region, the project impacts dozens of properties, including more than 21 homes close to Hall’s home.

The utility company said that more than 20 of those homeowners have already voluntarily reached property acquisition agreements, claiming that many landowners are being offered above-market compensation. 

“Whatever we have to, our goal is always to minimise disruption and to impact the least number of homeowners and property owners we can,” Georgia Power Communications Director Jacob Hawkins said per WSB-TV Atlanta. 

He added that limiting acquisition costs is a legal necessity, as excessive payouts would drive up the power bills.

Brown, however, alleges her family’s initial financial agreement with the company was significantly lower than market value.

As her videos documenting the ordeal began gaining traction online, the family decided to reject the company’s offer. 

Neighbours facing the same eviction notices allege local property appraisals are undervalued, leaving them without enough capital to purchase a replacement property.

Now, Hall has until August 1 to find and buy a new house that she can afford, moving her furniture and pets, chickens and 20 koi fish out of what she thought was her forever home.