Large-scale datacentre projects around the world are being challenged or cancelled, as infrastructure’s energy demands ramp up

Datacentre planning proposals face all kinds of hurdles, from securing energy supply to high construction costs. But the 2,000 acre Prince William Digital Gateway site in the US state of Virginia had another problem: its proximity to a Civil War battlefield.

“If the development is allowed to proceed, the solemn nature of this historic site would become marred by sitting in the shadow of the monstrous datacentres, along with their associated electrical infrastructure,” said one legal brief against the plans.

Scottish government to consider SNP national council motion for moratorium on all new datacentres

The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy at risk.

Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)’s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider.

Suspicions grow in Lanarkshire that local people have been misled on supposed benefits of the huge development

• Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no prospect of meeting renewables promise

• What are Britain’s AI growth zones and are the plans feasible or ‘complete bunk’?

The promise was that a Scottish community would be transformed by massive investment and empowered to chase “the jobs of the future”. Instead, local people in Lanarkshire fear they may have to sell their properties and lose green belt land because of the errors of a badly planned AI datacentre complex, even as those jobs and investments never arrive.

Late last year, representatives of Oakes Energy Services began to knock on doors in Newarthill, a village east of Glasgow. In letters reviewed by the Guardian, they invited residents to individual meetings. They told them about plans for a solar farm, say local people, and made offers: free solar panels, tree planting, or even cash for their properties.

Readers respond to an article about Erin Brockovich’s battle against datacentres and voice their fears for the environment

What are the benefits obtained from AI’s massive use of electricity and water (‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres, 29 June)? Analysis shows that the top four uses of AI are “therapy/companionship”, “technical assistance and troubleshooting”, “fun and nonsense”, and “fan fiction and storytelling”.

AI use for therapy, and due to loneliness, appears not to reduce loneliness. AI provides affirmation, but at the expense of reducing the social skills needed to interact in the real world. Teachers report that students’ use of AI reduces their capacity for critical thinking.