There's a bit of having your cake and eating it too when it comes to people who turn their noses up at these data centres.

The Greens are jumping up and down about them. Of course they are. They say they'll suck up power from the grid, push up electricity prices and create only a handful of jobs. That's the problem, apparently.

They're calling for a one-year ban while we sort out some regulations, which is all very well and good, except for two quite important things.

First, most Kiwis use AI, which is basically why we need these centres in the first place. Two-thirds of us have used AI in the past year. It's making our lives and businesses more efficient but that comes at a cost. 

An AI search apparently uses at least 10 times the electricity of a Google search. Researchers in the US reckon that a single ChatGPT query, and just think about this next time you type one in, consumes the electrical equivalent of leaving a light bulb on for 20 minutes.

Okay, so it's not cheap. There's no such thing as a free lunch. The more we use it, the more it costs.

Second, when politicians call for moratoriums or bans, it's usually because we don't know enough about something and need more time to figure it out. That is not the case here. Amsterdam imposed a moratorium on data centres in 2019. Ireland effectively restricted them in 2021 and some US states have done the same.

Since then, a lot has changed. There are now rules in place overseas, in certain jurisdictions, that mean data centres essentially have to generate their own electricity. There's no reason we can't, or shouldn't, have similar rules ready to roll out here.

It's the job of politicians, remember. This is pretty much what they do, including this coalition, I might add: keeping on top of the law and what's happening around the world. That's how they justify their overseas junkets, after all, isn't it? They're meant to stay ahead of the curve.

But we're not.

A moratorium on data centres is a very 2019 solution. It's very pre-COVID. Let's not be so pretentious or self-righteous as to believe it's not us driving demand for data.

What we need, and you won't hear me say this often, is rules and regulations that ensure we can keep the lights on while feeding the dirty little AI habit we like to pretend we don't have.

LISTEN ABOVE

There's a bit of having your cake and eating it too when it comes to people who turn their noses up at these data centres.
The Greens are jumping up and down about them. Of course they are. They say they'll suck up power from the grid, push up electricity prices and create only a handful of jobs. That's the problem, apparently.
They're calling for a one-year ban while we sort out some regulations, which is all very well and good, except for two quite important things.
First, most Kiwis use AI, which is basically why we need these centres in the first place. Two-thirds of us have used AI in the past year. It's making our lives and businesses more efficient but that comes at a cost.&nbsp;
An AI search apparently uses at least 10 times the electricity of a Google search. Researchers in the US reckon that a single ChatGPT query, and just think about this next time you type one in, consumes the electrical equivalent of leaving a light bulb on for 20 minutes.
Okay, so it's not cheap. There's no such thing as a free lunch. The more we use it, the more it costs.
Second, when politicians call for moratoriums or bans, it's usually because we don't know enough about something and need more time to figure it out. That is not the case here. Amsterdam imposed a moratorium on data centres in 2019. Ireland effectively restricted them in 2021 and some US states have done the same.
Since then, a lot has changed. There are now rules in place overseas, in certain jurisdictions, that mean data centres essentially have to generate their own electricity. There's no reason we can't, or shouldn't, have similar rules ready to roll out here.
It's the job of politicians, remember. This is pretty much what they do, including this coalition, I might add: keeping on top of the law and what's happening around the world. That's how they justify their overseas junkets, after all, isn't it? They're meant to stay ahead of the curve.
But we're not.
A moratorium on data centres is a very 2019 solution. It's very pre-COVID. Let's not be so pretentious or self-righteous as to believe it's not us driving demand for data.
What we need, and you won't hear me say this often, is rules and regulations that ensure we can keep the lights on while feeding the dirty little AI habit we like to pretend we don't have.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Do we need a moratorium on data centres?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/689a6998-996b-46c5-a4cf-b4940080c854/transcript