A PUBLIC consultation meeting between a proponent for an artificial intelligence (AI) data center project and citizens and the local government of Oton, Iloilo, went horribly wrong on Aug. 14, when the project’s representative stormed out of the meeting and later cursed journalists trying to ask follow-up questions outside. Although the powers-that-be in the government and among big business groups anxious to see the Philippines grow and profit from the new “AI era” of industrial development have been quick to write off the whole sorry affair as just a case of one foreign businessman behaving badly, the incident should be taken more seriously, as it highlights key issues and concerns that must be addressed.
The meeting in question was called by the municipal council of Oton and held in a local church to accommodate the number of residents who attended. It was meant to provide an opportunity for Mr. Daniel Stefan Robertsen, the representative of a company called Norway Green Energy, to present the proposal for the construction of a 10-hectare AI data center campus in the town, which would have as its centerpiece a facility that would initially be 10 megawatts (MW) in size, later scaling up to 50 MW.
The size of AI data centers is described in terms of their electricity requirements. A data center of 50 MW is actually rather small; most AI data centers require several hundred MW up to several gigawatts of electricity.
Robertsen introduced the meeting as a chance to address what he described as misconceptions about AI data centers, and to give residents an opportunity to directly raise their concerns. “[I want to] clarify a couple of misunderstandings because I read some comments (on social media) that are rumors that are entirely lacking in information,” he told the assembled community.
However, according to various news reports, when a resident asked Robertsen about the water use and management of the proposed facility, he appeared irritated by the question, and responded by asking the resident whether she had ever worked in a data center. When another resident chimed in expressing disapproval of the proposal, Robertsen abruptly ended the discussion and left the meeting, telling the audience: “If you don’t want it, I don’t want it either. I am not forcing somebody to build the data center. I am not here to convince you. Let me say this: if you think that the data center is something toxic and you don’t want it, then let us stop the discussion now,” he said.
The situation deteriorated further when several members of the media approached Robertsen outside the venue, intending to ask him some questions about the project and what had just happened in the meeting. Robertsen instead cursed the reporters, and threatened to pursue legal action against them for photographs and videos being recorded.
Oton officials expressed frustration at the development, and said that while they would go ahead and complete their committee report and recommendation to the municipal council, as far as they were concerned, Robertsen’s walkout meant that the proposal was withdrawn.
Obviously, the incident should be an object lesson for other prospective investors to exercise decorum and patience in interacting with local communities. However, there was nothing at all unusual or unfair about the concerns being shared by the citizens of Oton, and proponents of AI data centers should be aware that the situation there, in terms of what the unfortunate Mr. Robertsen found himself facing, though he handled it extremely poorly, will be the norm.
Being late to the AI development phenomenon, Filipinos have the benefit of reading months of news about the growing resistance to AI data centers in other parts of the world, particularly in the US. Objectively, AI data centers require large amounts of electricity, large amounts of water, and have been shown to have other impacts, such as noise and a “heat island” effect, that communities may find undesirable. And because once constructed a data center requires only a few personnel to operate, job creation and other economic benefits to host communities are often overestimated or overstated.
None of that automatically disqualifies AI data centers from potentially locating in Philippine communities, but proponents must realize these questions are going to be asked, and will require clear, accurate and honest answers. If prospective developers find this an imposition, as Norway Green Energy’s Robertsen evidently did, then it would be better for all concerned for them to not waste their time here, and seek acceptance elsewhere.
