--- title: "Family Horrified When They’re Forced to Sell Their Beloved Home to Make Way for AI Data Centers" description: "A Georgia family chose to sell their home after the state's private utility company threatened to seize it to make room for data centers." date: "2026-07-18" modified: "2026-07-18" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/family-sell-home-data-center-georgia-power" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Family Horrified When They’re Forced to Sell Their Beloved Home to Make Way for AI Data Centers ![A colorful photo illustration of a "For Sale" sign in front of a house.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Shutterstock* Like a tornado descending from the heavens, data centers are tearing through homes across the US, [roaring like a jet engine](), leaving [schools without power](), and [decimating entire communities]() unlucky enough to stand in their path. Case in point, one Georgia family has been forced to sell their home, after the state utility concern decided it needed to build a new transmission line to connect new AI data centers. As [reported by *CBS*](), the Brown family of Coweta County, Georgia decided to sell their home to Georgia Power, rather than risk seizure by [eminent domain](). Ansley Brown, whose parents raised her in the home, told *CBS,* "it's ours. It's our family. We belong here." The Browns are just one of likely 300 landowners who will have their property seized so that Georgia Power — a [for-profit](), investor-owned corporation — can make a cozy home for the tech industry. "To us it's theft," Browns' mother told *CBS*. "It's literally a billion-dollar company stealing land from smaller people, people who can't fight back. We don't have the money to fight Georgia Power." For its part, the utility company told *CBS* they "have worked hard to be transparent, negotiate in good faith," and "make the process as easy as possible." The Browns, understandably, don't see it that way. "You can't tear down 35 miles of rural Georgia and it not hurt something or somebody," the mother said. "And to say that you're doing it in the name of data centers is a slap in the face to us, our community, our animals." **More on data centers:** *[Massive Data Center Cooks Nearby Residents Alive Amidst Deadly Heatwave]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()