As AI data centers require thousands of temporary workers, developers are turning to man camps - temporary villages that first gained popularity in remote oil fields. In Dickens County, Texas, a Bitcoin mining facility is being converted into a 1.6 gigawatt data center, with workers housed in gray units featuring gyms, laundromats, game rooms, and a cafeteria.

Target Hospitality has secured $132 million in contracts to build and operate the Dickens County camp, which could eventually house over 1,000 workers. The company's chief commercial officer Troy Schrenk described the U.S. data center construction boom as "the largest, most actionable pipeline I've ever seen," signaling Target's aggressive pivot toward this market. This marks a significant expansion from the company's traditional hospitality operations.

The same company that's profiting from AI worker housing also owns the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, which has faced serious allegations including contaminated food and inadequate accommodations for children with allergies. This connection between AI infrastructure development and immigration detention raises questions about the company's broader role in housing vulnerable populations.