Scotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK’s AI strategy

They suck up energy and water, and blast out heat. Just who is better off from all this investment – aside from tech bros? The two great existential threats of our time – the climate crisis and AI – come hurtling together in the explosion of datacentres across Australia and around the world. You can hardly avoid hearing about them these days, either with awed reverence of the promised benefits to humankind or with fear and anger given the implications for the climate, inflation, jobs and even housing affordability. Continue reading...

LSE analysis highlights litigation linked to energy sources, water consumption and air pollution The proliferation of datacentres and AI is increasingly at the forefront of environmental litigation around the world from Chile to Ireland, a report has found. In an analysis of about 3,600 climate-related lawsuits filed since 2015, the latest annual review of climate litigation by the London School of Economics (LSE) found a growing number of cases challenging the energy sources, water consumption and air pollution of datacentres, all of which have related climate implications. Continue reading...

A burgeoning genre of fictional AI doomsday scenarios says lagging behind on the technology could threaten the continent’s sovereignty It’s 2031 and the US and China are about to tear Europe into pieces. The US ploughed vast sums into datacentres and the EU did not. China built robots and Europe did not. American companies “restructured” their workflows around AI and fired people, while EU workers went on long lunch breaks and handed over administrative tasks to the AI model Claude. Continue reading...

Excessive heat, pollution and making climate change worse just so you can ask the computer to draw a funny dancing cabbage Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Definition of green facilities made in 2022, before release of ChatGPT, says Action to Protect Rural Scotland A Scottish government policy designed to encourage datacentres to build in Scotland could lead to a massive volume of carbon emissions being ignored, according to an analysis by a Scottish charity. “Green datacentres” are at the heart of Scotland’s ambitions to develop economically. Enshrined in national policy, they are part of a larger, UK-wide effort to attract big AI investment to Scotland. Continue reading...

Telecoms company CEO says tech firms are buying up memory chips to power datacentres relied on by AI Business live – latest updates BT has said that the cost of smartphones could rise as technology companies buy up semiconductor chips due to the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), putting pressure on supply chains. The telecoms company’s chief executive, Allison Kirkby, said she was anticipating shortages as tech firms bought large quantities of memory chips to power the datacentres relied on by AI. Continue reading...

Industry body says energy consumption driven by AI up 15% globally in two years as it warns of societal backlash Datacentres are consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, with the growing strain of AI on energy supplies prompting community resistance, according to research. The proportion of electricity used by vast warehouses stacked with microchips to power AI and the internet has risen 15% worldwide in the past two years as annual global investment in datacentres approaches $1tn (£740bn) – nearly 1% of the global economy, according to the International Data Center Association (IDCA). Continue reading...

State and federal energy ministers said investments in new renewable generation and energy storage should “fully offset” new data centres’ energy needs Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the energy demand of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs. State and federal energy ministers agreed at a meeting last week that datacentres across the country should “fully offset” their electricity demand through investments in new renewable generation and energy storage. Continue reading...