Resources:Why data centres

Why are we focusing on Data Centres?

The reason we have chosen to focus this fight on data centres rather than anything broader boils down to two simple factors; it is a unifying issue, and it is also a winnable cause.

The first is fairly straightforward. A lot of the people who oppose data centres are ordinary families who do not want environmentally dubious[1] pieces of infrastructure with potentially harmful health impacts[2] in their neighbourhood and next to their kids schools. But it also includes those who are militantly opposed to all AI, and who are deeply against any and all use of the technology (often alongside many other products created by tech companies). In between, people with a spectrum of political beliefs, including (but not limited to) the environmentally conscious, the mass surveillance concerned, the AI sceptical, and those angry about the encroaching of silicon valley on our lives can find common cause in opposing data centres. One recent poll by Primara Research found that 83% of Australians would not like to live near a data centre[3]. Although this research was commissioned by a company whose relationship with data centre companies is unclear (but which uses and promotes AI products), this is broadly in accordance with the recent Gallup poll in the US, which found 7/10 Americans were also opposed to data centres[4]. Whatever the reasons that bring a person to this position, they are clearly unpopular. This means that organising around this unifying goal (a moratorium on data centre development) is going to be far more effective than any of the branching issues, like generative AI or combating large tech companies directly; we all agree about the data centres, so we start there.

The second part is more complex. Many communities globally have managed to put a stop to data centres – a report from Data Centre Watch put the total monetary effect of data centre push back at 64 billion USD[5] (note this report was for the period between 2024-25). There is opposition to data centres in Europe[6], Latin America[7], Asia[8] the United States[9], here in Australia and basically anywhere the companies try to build them. It can be a daunting task – many are still being built, and it is a valid reaction to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the issue. However, there have been wins. And that is because, unlike the broader issue of AI, data centre development is still very much able to be reigned in by local legislature. They are still building projects, requiring permits, assessments, planning permissions and all the other bureaucratic steps that any school, swimming pool, hospital or power plant would need to go through to get approval. They are physical buildings on land that needs to be bought, zoned correctly and developed. Obviously these rules will be different depending on jurisdiction – what is needed in a US state to stop a data centre is going to be different to outer Melbourne. However it is still doable. And that is why they can and should be the focus of a fight – regardless of what one personally feels about AI. The Australian state governments are unlikely to be able to (on their own) to reign in OpenAI or Anthropic, even if they were sufficiently pressured into it. Attempts from the federal government to reign in other tech companies, notably social media companies, has been mixed at best[10].

This is why the data centres are an excellent focal point – they can be opposed and organised around, the same as other unpopular development greenlit by the government, like coal and gas projects[11] and incinerators[12]. This fight is global, but locally is how we can win.