Data Centres: From Boom to Backlash

Thursday, April 2, 2:00-3:15 PM, La Cite Auditorium (CT 215)

The investment boom in data centre construction across the United States has ignited growing grassroots opposition across that country. Politicians who initially welcomed data centre development with incentives and subsidies are now trying desperately to regulate the industry in response to voter backlash. As Canada begins to experience its own data centre explosion, understanding the American experience will be crucial if we are to avoid the same mistakes. By examining the economic, environmental and political issues caused by data centre development, as well as organized community responses to those issues, we can better prepare our own communities to meet these challenges.

Presenter: Dr. Simon Enoch (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Adjunct in Politics and International Studies)

About the Human(e) Futures Colloquium

The Human(e) Futures Colloquium brings together critical voices from across the university (and beyond) in discussion around the technologies known as “generative artificial intelligence” (Gen AI). We are interested in exploring the human(e) questions, problems, and effects that emerge from the mass, largely uncritical, adoption of GenAI. These include effects on the university and how we learn and think, questions around how our labour is understood and valued, concerns about our planet and its future, effects on how we create and engage with art and creativity, and effects on how we live and think together in cultural, social, and political communities in sustainable and equitable ways. 

Our Manifesto.