SZA Warns Against AI & Its ‘Environmental Racism,’ Slams Users for Being ‘Codependent on a Machine’

In the words of SZA on SOS track “Ghost in the Machine,” let’s talk about AI.

The R&B hitmaker spoke out Wednesday (July 16) about being “deeply concerned” regarding the dangers of using artificial intelligence, which — through models such as ChatGPT and Elon Musk’s Grok — has been seeing a drastic increase in popularity in recent years. What many of its users may not realize, however, is that AI comes with a steep environmental cost, one that has been found to disproportionately affect Black and brown communities — which is exactly what SZA is hoping to get across.

“Please google how much energy and pollution it takes to run Ai,” the musician wrote in a comment on Instagram, a screenshot of which she shared on her Story. “Please google the beautiful black cities like Memphis that are SUFFERING because of twitters new Ai system.”

“PLEASE JUST GOOGLE ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM,” she continued. “AI doesn’t give a f–k if you live or die I promise. THERE IS A PRICE FOR CONVENIENCE AND BLACK AND BROWN [people] WILL PAY THE BRUNT OF IT EVERY-TIME.”

Billboard has reached out to X for comment.

SZA also slammed the use of AI the day prior, according to Complex, writing at the time on her Story: “AI is killing and polluting Black and Brown cities. None of you care ‘cause [you’re] codependent on a machine. Have a great life.”

Artificial intelligence has long been a tricky subject, especially within the music industry. Artists such as Rihanna and Paul McCartney have spoken up about the technology’s capacity to create potentially harmful deepfakes and infringe on other musicians’ creative rights, while others have used it as a tool to aid in the creation or restoration of music.

But while the possible benefits and drawbacks of AI are still being discovered, what can’t be ignored are the environmental risks it poses. According to MIT, artificial intelligence data centers frequently demand high amounts of water and “a staggering amount of electricity, which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions and pressures on the electric grid.”

As far as SZA is concerned, she arguably couldn’t have picked a better time to speak out about what she believes in. The star has had even more eyes on her than usual this week following her spat on X with Nicki Minaj, who called SZA “ugly” and a “liar” on Tuesday (July 15) and wrote, “B—h looking & sounding like she got stung by a f–king bee.”

SZA fired back at the time, “I don’t give a f–k bout none of that weird s–t you popping.”