The limits of AI: Texas tragedy highlights infrastructure failures

HUNT, Texas — Devastating floods swept through Texas in early July, killing more than 100 people and revealing critical gaps in the AI-powered public safety measures used to respond to emergencies. 

The tragedy at Camp Mystic and across the Texas Hill Country has sparked public concern over emergency preparedness, especially after deep staffing cuts to agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS). These agencies have increasingly relied on artificial intelligence, a shift aligned with federal efforts to accelerate AI development, such as the “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” executive order issued in January 2025. 

But AI alone isn’t enough, warns Balaji Sreenivasan, Founder & CEO of Aurigo Software. 

“The AI race is real, and it’s heating up,” he said. “AI isn’t just a software or hardware challenge; it’s an infrastructure challenge. Training and deploying AI models demand enormous power, bandwidth and compute resources. We need to make sure that our foundations can carry the load. That means expanding grid capacity, modernizing power systems and making smarter, faster investments in physical infrastructure. Not just in the deployment of new infrastructure, but in the maintenance of existing infrastructure, too.” 

Globally, AI projects are advancing rapidly. In Genoa, Italy, Milestone’s Project Hafnia is developing AI-driven traffic management systems, which CEO Thomas Jensen describes as “responsible AI innovation.” 

In contrast, U.S. systems continue to struggle. A recent CalMatters investigation found that a Cal Fire chatbot failed to provide accurate wildfire containment updates or reliable evacuation information. 

“We’ve got utilities struggling to keep pace,” Sreenivasan added. “We need to align our infrastructure strategy with the future we’re building toward. The good news is that we already have the tools, and now we just need to apply them more effectively and with far greater urgency.”