The AI data centre backlash: can the boom survive contact with local politics?

AI may be digital, but its success depends on a very physical reality: data centre construction. As investment in AI infrastructure surges, local opposition is growing too, with concerns over power use, water consumption, visual intrusion, and noise all prominent. In this episode, Paul and Lizzy are joined by Nancy Hardie from Aberdeen’s sustainability team, and Tim O'Reilly from datacentre developer Tritax. They explore the economics, politics and geopolitics of the AI infrastructure buildout. Is opposition to datacentre construction a risk to the “AI trade”? Is this backlash a stand-in for broader societal concerns about who benefits from, and who pays for, the AI revolution? And what does responsible datacentre construction look like in practice?