Are AI and data centers a panacea for our

Are AI and data centers a panacea for our | Daily Tribune

And like Aladdin’s genie, now that it has been released, man will always want more. More content. More data collection. More storage. More artificial intelligence. And more data centers.

But does more always mean better? Are data centers really as beneficial as we are told?

The easy-to-understand argument, particularly for a foreign investment-starved country like ours, is economic development. Technology companies promise billions in investments and portray data centers as catalysts for local growth. To attract them, governments offer generous tax breaks and infrastructure support.

The problem is that these facilities are not labor-intensive and surprisingly require few permanent, mostly highly technical, jobs, unlike manufacturing plants, business process centers, and industrial parks that employ thousands of workers. The result may be a troubling imbalance between public cost and public benefit.

Even more troubling is the voracious appetite of data centers for electricity.

The need for more artificial intelligence will increase the demand for computing power, which will likely exceed the power-generating capacities of most fossil-fuel economies like ours, which is still struggling to generate more renewable energy sources. The surge in energy demand places enormous pressure on power grids already struggling to balance affordability and environmental sustainability.

There is a certain irony that should be seriously considered. In the quest for greater sustainability and power reliability, particularly during periods of oil price instability such as we are experiencing now because of the US-Iran war, ordinary citizens are urged to conserve electricity and reduce their carbon footprint. And yet, these data centers that are owned by large corporations continue to expand their energy requirements to satisfy our growing AI appetites.

Then there is the question of water.

The constant churning of electricity-hungry data processors and servers requires significant quantities of water for their cooling systems. In regions experiencing drought brought about by the severe repercussions of climate change such as El Niño, every drop of water allocated for data center use means water-starved food-producing farms deprived of their share of precious water. As populations grow and climate patterns become more unpredictable, water may become a more critical resource than electricity.

Land use presents another challenge.

Data centers require large tracts of strategically located land that could otherwise be used for manufacturing plants that employ many more people; and often, these lands had been settled for many generations by indigenous communities who would be displaced from their ancestral homes.

The current demonstrations against Pax Silica by the indigenous communities and sympathetic citizens of Tarlac are clear evidence of the emotional and mental anguish that can be triggered by data centers.

These adverse reactions are most certainly not confined to our country. Even in America, the main proponent of Pax Silica, where there are about 5,000 data centers throughout all 50 states, there is growing opposition to data centers. According to Environment America in an October 2026 report, New York and Texas recently imposed statewide moratoriums on new data centers. In addition, about 15 states are planning to impose moratoriums as well.

Hmmm… it makes one wonder what the real reasons are for the sudden benevolence of the US toward us. Could it be that there’s too much political heat in their own backyard?

This opinion is not meant to be an anti-data center nor an anti-Pax Silica piece. In fact, I personally am in favor of Pax Silica because I truly believe Pax Silica could really be a shot of adrenaline for our economy. But it will be a slippery path that we have to carefully tread.

Until next week… OBF!

For comments, email bing_matoto @yahoo.com.