Shafaqna English- As AI demand surges, local communities in Chile and Brazil push back against data centers’ heavy use of water, diesel, and energy, demanding transparency from governments and tech giants, according to the Guardian.
Across Latin America, residents are questioning the environmental cost of the data centers fueling the global AI boom. According to Researcher Paz Peña of the Mozilla Foundation, countries like Chile and Brazil are actively courting billions in foreign investment by offering tax breaks and deregulated approvals for data center construction often at the expense of environmental safeguards.
Peña notes that Chile has quietly loosened environmental assessment rules, allowing many data centers to bypass impact evaluations despite their high diesel consumption and water use. “Governments are creating opportunities for investment,” she said, “but not creating rules for the environmental impacts.”
Local activists have grown frustrated, accusing leaders including Chile’s self-described “ecological” administration of prioritizing corporate interests over communities. Many citizens say they were excluded from national planning discussions, fueling mistrust and resistance.
With governments and corporations reluctant to disclose key information, residents in some regions have taken legal action to obtain data on how new facilities could affect local resources.
Despite tech companies framing these projects as engines of progress, Peña warns that without stronger regulation and public transparency, the AI infrastructure boom may deepen inequality and environmental strain in some of the world’s driest areas.
Source: Guardian