Why the EU Commission’s plan for an AI data-centres boom is short-sighted

The current EU approach to the Cloud and AI Development Act (CAIDA) will sacrifice local communities’ interests in favour of the data centres’ sector expansion. As part of its AI Continent Action Plan, the commission is finalising a new proposal for a regulation aimed at a massive data centre expansion. CAIDA seeks to fast-track permissions for data centre developments to access energy, water, and land. Tripling data centres’ capacity and fast-tracking permission procedures will further disempower local governments, exacerbate resource conflicts, and create barriers to public interest computing.