UK Must Accelerate Data Center Build Out, AI Minister Says

The UK needs to “move faster” on data center construction to reach a “sovereign level” of artificial intelligence processing power and infrastructure, AI minister Kanishka Narayan said in an interview.

Increasing data center capacity “is an argument that the public buys very clearly,” Narayan told Bloomberg TV at the Labour Party’s annual conference, while acknowledging concerns about the risks surrounding AI.

The build-out must be done while maintaining “a sense of control” to retain public support, which the minister said meant avoiding overbuilding, ensuring “local communities get a voice,” and delivering benefits such as investment in clean energy.

As much as £100 billion ($136 billion) in data center investments has been touted by the UK government, with politicians including Narayan arguing the country needs its own data centers to reduce reliance on other countries.

The UK public is increasingly voicing concerns about the strain data centers put on both energy supplies and water resources needed for cooling. Earlier this month, Scotland’s devolved government agreed to a temporary pause on data center planning permissions before new guidelines that are schedule to come in toward the end of the year.

Read More: Scottish Parliament Vows to Set Tighter Rules on Data Centers

Narayan said the government remains committed to its AI Growth Zones, which are areas with enhanced access to electricity and easier planning approvals. “We’ve now got to deliver that in practice, not just in policy,” he said.

He also argued that OpenAI scrapping its data center in the north east doesn’t reflect a failure in UK policy, pointing out the company paused similar project in Norway and parts of the US. “The common denominator there is not the British planning system. I think the common denominator there is the corporate finance situation or the company in question.”