AI maker, not just a taker: opportunities and challenges in AI growth zones.

Published at the start of the year, Labour’s AI Opportunities Action Plan focuses on improving public services and boosting the economy through AI development. Part of this development is AI growth zones – areas selected by the government to host economic development in technologies to support AI-related industries.

AI growth zones aim to create thousands of jobs and revitalise local economies, objectives that are outlined under the government’s Plan for Change.The premise is that as AI infrastructure providers seek land power, governments around the world who move quickly and mirror the pace of growth in the market will be best placed to secure investment from tech companies.

The government’s AI strategy rests on infrastructure and data centre delivery. However, some politicians talk about AI as if it is disconnected from physical infrastructure. They are sometimes guilty of failing to discuss the unglamourous but necessary hard economic infrastructure that underpins the plan.

It is not just the delivery of new infrastructure but how to mitigate its impact on other resources.

AI data centres use a significant amount of water to prevent computer systems from overheating. The government has announced that its first AI growth zone will be situated in Oxfordshire, only a few miles from a proposed new reservoir in Abingdon. The south-east like other regions is struggling with water supplies, and there is a fear that AI growth zones could potentially put more stress on the water sector at a time when housebuilding is key.

With significant power requirements, the impact of data centres on housebuilding is also a consideration. Some west London boroughs have had to pause development because there is no capacity for power connections until the mid 2030s.

Many data centres are already addressing the challenges. Some are already using advanced cooling systems to help reduce the significant amount of water usage.  

The creation of the AI Energy Council will also help to ensure responsible energy sources are being used to drive forward the UK’s AI blueprint.

Led by the science and energy secretaries, the council aims to explore clean energy solutions in growth zones, to ensure that AI data centres align with the government’s net zero goals. Spatial planning together with engagement with utilities will be key to considering the energy and water assets that must support this ecosystem.

Opportunities as well as societal fear and uncertainty surrounding AI will remain. Yet what is certain is that the physical infrastructure in energy and water required to support the growth of AI must be given more focus.