However, as the infrastructure needed to support the growing artificial intelligence sector is built, the extractivist dimension of the digital is reaching new levels of complexity. On the one hand, there are the environmental implications of this infrastructure, which is creating water stress in places like Mexico, Chile, and Spain thanks to massive data centres, many of which emit enormous quantities of greenhouse gases. 

On the other hand, there is the economic impact. Most of these data centres are established without contributing in any meaningful way to local development. For instance, just this past week Open AI announced the construction of a US$25 billion mega data centre in the Patagonian region of Argentina. The announcement made no mention of whether the data centre “would create local employment, boost local industrial production, be based on environmental impact assessments, or include any Argentinian national oversight of strategic infrastructure,” says Natalia Zuazo in an article published last Friday in El Pais.

But what exactly do we mean by “extractivism”? Generally speaking, the concept of extractivism refers to an economic model that extracts value from regions thought of as “empty,” “barbaric,” or “primitive” and that are perceived to contain resources that are available for outsiders to exploit. Usually, this type of extraction generates next-to-no economic benefit for local communities, even if local elites enrich themselves quite significantly. Extractivism also tends to destroy natural ecosystems in its quest for revenue, create “serious social and health threats on the local populace,” and fuel local conflict between and among communities and private actors. This model is also highly dependent on international prices, leading to frequent boom and bust cycles that undermine long-term economic development. It is usually perpetuated by weak and corrupt institutions at the local, subnation, and national level and predatory, rent-seeking behaviour by local and national elites.

This definition seems to apply to the situation Argentina quite clearly, where a foreign multinational is seeking to benefit from the vast natural resources of the country without leaving much economic development behind and with few checks and balances. And the country’s government appears more interested in attracting foreign investment for its benefit and of the elites it represents than in establishing clear oversight mechanisms or in fostering sustainable local development.

In this context, WACC believes we need to take urgent action to address this issue. We believe states should work diligently to establish clear guidelines that protect natural ecosystems, set out clear national oversight mechanisms with real tools to enforce regulations, and mandate data centres to contribute to local and national development in the form of knowledge, technology, and financial benefits transfers. We also call on states to respect Indigenous rights, mainly obligations to ensure free, prior, and informed consent, when approving the constructions of data centre infrastructure.

Furthermore, and in line with “Water and energy nexus,” the July 2025 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, WACC supports the notion that “[s]tates and international institutions should promote a moratorium on the development of data centres and provide clear information on their water and energy consumption and the risks that they pose to climate change, the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems, the human rights of impoverished populations and the survival of vulnerable productive sectors.” This moratorium should remain in place until these risks have been effectively mitigated.

WACC looks forward to being part of continued civil society pressure to ensure that the calls for a more equitable digital world eventually turn into reality. We encourage people, communities, and civil society organizations everywhere to join us in these efforts.

Image: © cnv-studio via Canva.com

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google operate data centres that take vast amounts of water from some of the world’s driest areas. Now, according to a new investigation by SourceMaterial and The Guardian newspaper, they “plan to increase the number of data centres they operate worldwide by 78 per cent. With cloud computing already straining current infrastructure, advances in artificial intelligence are set to drive further demand as companies seek capacity to train models like ChatGPT.”

The struggle for water is as old as humanity. Water scarcity triggers conflict as competing users assert their claim to a vital resource. Today, globally, water supplies are being strained by rising population demands, escalating environmental pressures, and unsustainable management practices. And in a world that runs on digital communication technologies, water is being seized by the rich and powerful.

It’s world of inequalities. Freshwater is limited and essential. Water covers 70% of the Earth’s surface, but only about 3% is freshwater, and less than 1% is accessible for human use. Around the world, more than 2 billion people struggle to access clean water for drinking, cooking, and sanitation, with a disproportionate impact on women and children.

Rivers are drying up and glaciers disappearing. Some of the world’s most vital rivers are shrinking, with dire consequences for people and wildlife. And climate change is intensifying water scarcity. As temperatures rise, droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, while unpredictable rainfall patterns make water management increasingly difficult.

Nature’s wild areas, acting as water filters and flood buffers, are vanishing three times faster than forests. Irrigation for crops uses 70% of the world’s freshwater, but inefficient practices often result in water wastage, pollution, and soil degradation. And urban centres supporting dense populations, and manufacturing hubs that require immense amounts of water and energy, place an additional burden on supplies, especially groundwater resources.

The UN Pact for the Future (September 2024) has a lot to say about technology, science, sustainable development, and digital divides. But it is silent on digitalisation’s demand for vast quantities of water, despite well-publicised concerns about data centre cooling. Yet, in Action 5(f) the Pact pledges to “Address and promote the prevention of water scarcity and build resilience to drought to achieve a world in which water is a sustainable resource and ensure the availability and sustainable management of clean and safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all.”

What is to be done? Governments could tax Big Tech and invest some of the proceeds in better water management and more equitable water distribution. It would be a drop in the well of humanity from an ocean of profits. But there’s more. While governments need Big Tech, they must resist its predations. People’s ability to connect – a fundamental communication right – must not come at the expense of the environment.

Photo: Shutterstock AI

According to UNCTAD, “Since 2010, global internet users have more than doubled and data traffic has expanded 25-fold. An increase in online activities like streaming videos and downloading files demands more energy and generates more emissions. Data centres and networks powering online and cloud services generate an estimated 1% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). And devices, data centres and ICT networks account for 6% to 12% of global energy use.”

Writing in The Guardian (17 May 2024), Koren Helbig noted that “Digital data is stored and processed in giant energy-guzzling data centres dotted all over the world. Every document, photo and email – even every ‘like’ or comment on social media – travels through multiple electricity-hungry layers of internet infrastructure, including computer servers housed in mind-bogglingly large data centres.”

And, according to The Washington Post (21June 2024), “As the tech giants compete in a global AI arms race, a frenzy of data center construction is sweeping the country. Some computing campuses require as much energy as a modest-sized city, turning tech firms that promised to lead the way into a clean energy future into some of the world’s most insatiable guzzlers of power.”

Processing data produces vast amounts of heat. Data-processors need cooling by systems that are often powered by coal. Data centres in India, Indonesia, and Australia are the most carbon intensive, because those countries produce more electricity with fossil fuels, particularly coal. Data centres in Northern Europe are typically more sustainable, since they use more renewable sources of electricity.

Carbon emissions are not the only environmental problem associated with the world’s insatiable demand for data-processing.

• Data centres use vast amounts of water, primarily to cool servers and other IT equipment. Water scarcity compounds the problem.
• Equipment such as servers, storage devices, and cooling systems have a limited shelf-life. Once obsolescent, they must be disposed of properly – not as landfill.
• Data centres usually rely on large banks of batteries to maintain operations during power outages. These batteries, typically of the lead-acid or lithium-ion variety, are not environmentally friendly.
• Coolants used in data centres can also become an environmental hazard.

Almost the whole world depends on digital infrastructures.

Can we do anything to help alleviate their environmental impact? According to Koren Helbig in The Guardian, yes.

• Avoid firing up generative AI for simple answers – it uses an estimated four to five times the energy of a conventional web search.
• Delete virtual clutter. Most of us hoard thousands of old or unread emails and countless photo duplicates. Getting rid of them reduces the digital footprint.
• Minimise cloud storage. By 2025 the digital industry is set to become the fourth-highest electricity consumer in the world, behind China, India, and the USA. Store photos and files on password-protected hard drives that only use energy when plugged in.
• Keep devices for as long as possible. New ones come at a hefty environmental cost.

Digitalization should carry a planetary health warning!

Image: Adapted from Shutterstock AI