Datacentres are a ticking time bomb. We must make sure AI’s benefits outweigh the costs

Datacentres are a ticking time bomb. We must make sure AI’s benefits outweigh the costs | Nicki Hutley

They suck up energy and water, and blast out heat. Just who is better off from all this investment – aside from tech bros? The two great existential threats of our time – the climate crisis and AI – come hurtling together in the explosion of datacentres across Australia and around the world.

First covered Jul 8, 2026 · 8:00 AM PT · 1 article

Coverage

1d Guardian Environment Datacentres are a ticking time bomb. We must make sure AI’s benefits outweigh the costs | Nicki Hutley — They suck up energy and water, and blast out heat. Just who is better off from all this investment – aside from tech bros?

Primary sources

mckinsey.com The Cost Of Compute A 7 Trillion Dollar Race To Scale Data Centers Final (mckinsey.com)

Related coverage

2d CleanTechnica New US Generating Stations For AI Will Create Emissions Equal To Australia’s

More coverage from around the web

climatechangenews.com UN asks AI companies to reveal full environmental impacts

weforum.org Managing data centre energy and water use in the AI era | World Economic Forum

sciencedirect.com The carbon and water footprints of data centers and what this could mean for artificial intelligence - ScienceDirect

unu.edu Rising Emissions, Depleting Water and Vanishing Land—UN Scientists: AI Is Threatening Natural Resources for Billions | United Nations University

arxiv.org International AI Safety Report

Appeared in: 2026-07-09 (#18)

← Back to the brief

Datacentres are a ticking time bomb. We must make sure AI’s benefits outweigh the costs | Nicki Hutley

Coverage

Primary sources

Related stories

Related coverage

More coverage from around the web