Anthony Furey: Canada should seize the moment and embrace AI data centres

People at the Sturgeon County Centre in Morinville, Alta., protest Meta’s plans to build a $13-billion data centre north of Edmonton on Aug. 2. Photo by Greg Southam/Postmedia

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One of the most pressing questions facing the Canadian public right now is one that most people will have never been asked before, which is: are we techno-optimists?

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The answer to that question will influence a number of ballot-box issues in upcoming elections related to artificial intelligence and the data centres that support its expansion. It will also determine whether Canada embraces the coming tidal wave of change brought about by AI enough to have some control over its direction and share in its spoils, or if we are simply battered about by the forces of AI.

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While it’s been around for a while, the phrase “techno-optimist” was popularized by Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen a few years ago to describe those who believe that the future is friendly and that technological progress will be a force for good.

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It doesn’t mean you ignore legitimate concerns. AI pioneers and executives themselves warn about the potential for catastrophe if things go off the rails. But the techno-optimist believes that these are obstacles to overcome, not reasons to reject the future.

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Currently, the Canadian public is on the fence about this progress. And we’re at risk of turning against it.

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A wave of anti-AI populism has flared up across the United States, with hundreds of municipalities banning data centres and over a dozen proposed state-wide bans. The trend has moved up here in recent months, with protests and calls for bans in some Canadian cities.

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Mississauga, Ont., has just enacted a one year moratorium on data centres as incumbent politicians who were previously in favour of them now trip over themselves to say who is more opposed to the facilities as they seek re-election in the October municipal election.

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It’s beyond the scope of this column to break down all the concerns about them — and the rebuttals by data centre advocates — but the claims include that the facilities use too much energy, too much water, will be intrusive and noisy and cost the taxpayer in the form of subsidies, handouts and increased energy rates.

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Some of these complaints are fearmongering, some are legitimate and can be addressed. And address them we should, because there are costs to missing out on welcoming such mega-projects.

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Canada is at risk of repeating the mistakes we made in letting our oil and gas sector be vilified, setting us back by more than a decade in developing key projects and enjoying their economic benefits.

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What we have now is primarily a communications problem. The public is exposed to plenty of arguments against data centres. But they’re not encountering many arguments in support of them.

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There is an entire subculture of Silicon Valley podcasts that present compelling and optimistic visions of the future of AI and its infrastructure. But they remain a subculture and aren’t filtering down into public consciousness to sway broader opinion.