How are data centres' unchecked growth detrimental to our lives and basic needs?

Increasingly speckling the stunning emerald expanses of greenery in Ireland these days are… data centres. 

Data centres, those soulless sprawling buildings storing servers and other computing infrastructure powering our digital lives, have been growing exponentially in Ireland. They are touted as being central to Ireland’s vision of itself as a tech hub. With over 80 data centres currently, Ireland now accounts for 25% of the European data centre market. Data centres use a whopping 21 per cent of Irish electricity compared to an EU average of around 2 per cent (the next highest country is the Netherlands at 5 per cent). Besides, the booming Artificial Intelligence industry is expected to further increase data centres' electricty use. 

At the same time, the data centre industry has also found itself in the eye of a storm, with growing clamour against its dire impact on the climate, energy and resource use, emissions etc. What exactly do these seemingly harmless and nondescript warehouses of servers have to do with the climate crisis and our human rights? Our latest series of infographics here breaks it down for you.