George Osborne Says Datacentre Protesters Are Holding Britain Back

George Osborne, a former top finance official in the UK government, says that people who protest against datacentres are slowing Britain down. He made these comments at a festival in Somerset, England, on Sunday. Osborne now works for OpenAI, the American company that created ChatGPT. He believes Britain needs more datacentres to stay in control of its own technology future.

Osborne used to be the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, which is like the country's head of money and finance. Now his job at OpenAI is to talk to governments around the world and help get datacentres built. He said that getting people to agree to large building projects has always been a challenge. 'I spent my life when I was a politician trying to get people to agree to have new roads and railway lines and airport runways,' he said.

A datacentre is a large building full of computers and servers that store and process huge amounts of data. They use enormous amounts of water and electricity to keep the computers cool and running. Osborne warned that if Britain does not let these buildings be constructed, the data will simply be stored in the United States instead. He argued this would mean Britain loses some control — what he called 'sovereignty' — over where its important tech systems are located.

Protests against datacentres have taken place all over the UK. People have demonstrated in central London, in rural areas like Devon, and outside the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. Residents say the giant buildings are ugly, use too much energy and water, and take up space that could be used for affordable homes. Many also question whether the datacentres actually bring good jobs to local communities.

The UK government has decided that AI datacentres are 'critical national infrastructure,' meaning they are treated as very important to the country, like hospitals or power stations. This classification is meant to make it easier and faster to get permission to build them. However, the Green Party in England disagrees strongly and has called for a pause — called a moratorium — on building any new datacentres for now.

Osborne called most of the opposition 'nimbyism,' a word that stands for 'Not In My Back Yard.' It describes people who might support something in general but do not want it built near their own homes. He pointed out that the United States is experiencing a massive boom in datacentre construction, even as more people there also begin to push back against them.

Not everyone agrees with Osborne's view that protesters are just being selfish. Verity Harding, who studies AI and world politics at the University of Cambridge, said people's frustration goes much deeper than just datacentres. She explained that datacentres are simply the one physical thing people can point to and protest against when they feel worried and left out of big decisions about AI. She also criticised tech leaders for sending confusing messages about how dangerous AI really is.

This week, the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic — two of the world's biggest AI companies — are meeting with presidents and prime ministers at the United Nations in New York City. World leaders are trying to figure out how to handle the rise of very powerful AI and whether it needs strict rules. Osborne said it should actually comfort people that tech company bosses are sitting down with world leaders to talk about regulation. He believes using international institutions to discuss these issues is the right approach for managing such a powerful new technology.