Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, a Republican candidate for governor next year, says he’s concerned the proliferation of data centers in Mississippi puts the state at risk and that he’s hearing major concerns about data centers and AI from Mississippians as he campaigns across the state. Gipson said data centers and the AI boom are being funded by debt and “circular financing,” similar to what happened with other tech before the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. He said he’s also concerned about the “AI impact on humanity,” the environment and utility consumers’ costs.