Alberta technology minister met with jeers at first town hall on AI data centres

Alberta technology minister met with jeers at first town hall on AI data centres

Minister says data centre sites need to be far from residential areas, province looking at setback rules

Alberta's technology minister was jeered, badgered and booed late Wednesday by a room packed with hundreds of people over the province's plans for an artificial intelligence data centre.

Nate Glubish was in the central Alberta community of Lacombe for the first in a series of town halls touting the windfall the mega-facilities could bring.

Dozens of people lined up to ask questions, but none who made it to the microphone before the event ended offered an endorsement.

There was also little trust in the Alberta government to regulate an industry poised to invest billions of dollars in the province to feed a growing global computing demand.

Craig Paterson, a lawyer based in Ponoka, told CBC News he was surprised by the turnout as he walked into the venue.

“I thought I could just walk right in. I am shocked to see the numbers here,” Paterson said, adding that he attended primarily to weigh the pros and cons.

“I’m sort of on the fence. On one hand, data centres can be a great asset. However, I’m concerned about the impact on water, power, and the overall quality of life in surrounding areas.”

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Paterson left the meeting still seeking concrete details on water consumption.

“The biggest takeaway is how it’s gonna be implemented. There didn't seem to be a lot of clear design,” he said. “It was general from that perspective but nothing specific.”

Others expressed unequivocal opposition. Challen Gladman, co-ordinator at the Ponoka Adult Learning Centre and a local business owner, attended as part of a group voicing strong pushback.

“We are vehemently anti-AI data centre,” Gladman said. “We have seen the videos, and all of the data that they have given. They are not keeping in mind any of the long-term impacts on our communities.”

During the Q&A, Gladman also said she thinks the economic benefits would likely be temporary and fail to offset environmental risks.

“There is no way to build an AI data centre that doesn’t massively impact the environment and the community that it is in," she said.

"Even the new technology that they claim to make it safer like the closed loop water system carry massive pollution charges."

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Bek MacIntosh, a high-profile opponent of a data centre in the nearby town of Olds, called her and the community's fight against the facility for more than eight months "pure hell" and "psychological warfare."

MacIntosh said the government should put proper safeguards in place for locals.

Glubish, in response, said an application to build a natural gas facility to power the proposed massive data centre complex in Olds was denied due to its proximity to a residential area.

He apologized for the regulator's timeline and promised the government is looking at specific setback rules.

He also said data centre sites need to be far from residential areas, and that Premier Danielle Smith's government is looking at setback provisions.

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MacIntosh later said Glubish avoided addressing the more worrisome impacts of the facilities, such as water.

She said she doesn't trust that Olds is safe from future data centre proposals.

"It's delightful to hear those words but absolutely useless after all these months," MacIntosh told reporters.

Some who spoke at the event also aired concerns about the potential abuse of personal data and global surveillance.

One woman said the technology represents the weaponization of human data, a push for digital identification and other measures that she said equated to treason.

Another speaker expressed concern about AI stealing jobs and called it an existential threat that the government cannot control.

Glubish said there are broad fears about AI and its use, and that any technological tool can be abused if it's not closely regulated.

He said that AI, as a tool, isn't inherently bad — it depends on whether it is used responsibly.

"There are folks who said similar things about computers, similar things about calculators," he said.

Others raised concerns about how the government plans to enforce the cleanup of data centre sites if they end up closing. One speaker worried that the taxpayer would bear the costs.

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Glubish said the government would enforce the polluter-pays principle.

"[AI centres are] not drilling holes into the ground and they're not pulling up chemicals out of the ground. This is just a warehouse with computers in it," Glubish said to some heckling.

Wednesday's crowd was tough from the get-go.

When Glubish took to the podium, one attendee asked him to make a land acknowledgment, given the impact data centres have on land use.

Glubish agreed and delivered an on-the-spot recognition of the territory's history, naming the treaties that span Alberta and the Métis Nation of Alberta.

He was promptly booed by some in the community hall.

"If you don't like the acknowledgment, I'm sorry that I'm not perfect. I'm just a human here," he said.

As a political staffer tried to bring the event to a close, he was met with loud protests from those who had been waiting to speak with the minister.

Moderator Vitor Marciano said he gave most people extra time to ask questions.

"There has been some misinformation here, but I'm not sure it's coming from the stage," he said.

Another town hall event is scheduled for tonight in Sturgeon County.

Lisa Johnson is a reporter for The Canadian Press based in Alberta.

With files from CBC's Nadeer Hashmi