Is AI a silver bullet? Lots of media coverage from the recent Labour Party Conference about the big gains (as yet unproven) to be made for the UK with the expansion of AI and data centres, would suggest so.
Take, for example, the PM’s enthusiasm. In his conference speech, Keir Starmer talked up AI as some kind of silver bullet for the UK’s economic problems. He spoke of US tech giants “queuing up to back this country” and described Britain as “indispensable for the AI future.”
But where was the coverage of the likely environmental impact? Err um… Well there was a fringe meeting with a Labour Climate and Environment Forum panel, titled “Feeding the Beast: Are Our Energy and Water Systems Ready for the AI Data Centre Boom?” But where was it reported?
If you get news from Foxglove, a non-profit campaigning organisation, which aims to make technology fair for everyone, you will get a better idea of just what is at stake.
Writing on her return from the Party conference Martha Dark, a co-founder director of Foxglove, and a speaker at the meeting explained that the “event was very well-attended. I met lots of people familiar with Foxglove’s work and plenty of Labour members who shared our concerns about the environmental impact of data centres, and had deep misgivings about the government’s failure to take these into account when pushing through data centre plans.”
She continued that: “whilst I was encouraged to meet so many Labour members, including some elected politicians, who shared our concerns, a lot of what I saw at the conference was a powerful reminder of what we’re up against. The signs of Big Tech lobbying power were everywhere I looked. There were dozens of meetings and events with Big Tech sponsorship and Big Tech representatives, with titles talking up AI and Big Tech products as the solution to every problem facing the country”.
The Tony Blair Institute, which is backed by hundreds of millions of pounds in donations from Trump-backing Big Tech billionaire Larry Ellison, was clearly splashing some of that cash in Liverpool. Its events took place in the biggest, most expensive rooms and attracted senior Labour politicians including the Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Liz Kendall. Martha points out that: “It is clear what Big Tech gains from building data centres here: the expansion of their platforms and profits. So far the government has ducked any serious discussion of what that US tech dominance means for the UK – how releasing millions of tonnes of new polluting carbon emissions into our air will affect our environment, how our energy and water systems will sustain such expansion, or how it can possibly align with Labour’s manifesto commitments on net zero. The urgency of building an AI ecosystem in Britain that works for the British public – and not one dictated by the interests of American tech giants – was notably absent from the debate.”
She had mixed feelings on the train returning home from Liverpool warning that: “On the one hand, it’s hard not to feel daunted by the power and influence on display from Big Tech, and by the clear hold they’ve got over senior figures in the UK government.
On the other hand, that’s a powerful reminder of exactly why we started Foxglove and why our work is so urgent and important. And I met plenty of people there who agreed with us, and many more who were persuadable once they heard our arguments.”
Some powerful points….
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea, the publication, Solar Power Portal reported last year that the Central Statistics Office for Ireland released metered electricity consumption figures for 2023 showing that data centres took a 21% share of the total uses more than the total amount for urban dwellings (18%) and rural dwellings (10%).
An article published by local outlet RTE (Ireland’s public service broadcaster) in April 2024 revealed that Ireland has 82 data centres, with 14 more under construction and planning approved for 40 more. This could lead to a 65% growth in the coming years.
Commenting on plans for a new data centre in County Clare, Friends of the Irish Environment said that while they would prefer to see data centre development halted altogether, there are various mitigations that might help, including sites prioritising renewable energy, and implementing energy and cooling efficiency measures.
More about data centre emissions here.
And don’t forget the vast amounts of water needed for cooling data centres here.
We need to know much more, especially from Government, about the environmental impact of AI and data centres before embarking on the vast expansion as proposed.
And environmental assessments of each scheme proposed are a must.