DAYS after the Government announced proposals to construct artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in Trinidad and Tobago, growing public concern over the possible environmental cost and strain on the country’s utilities saw thousands supporting a petition to suspend the projects pending consultation.Within 24 hours of its launch, the change.org petition, which seeks to halt approvals for the proposed construction of a 300MW data centre to be developed by Ernst & Young LLP and a proposed 150MW artificial intelligence infrastructure and data-centre facility with potential expansion to 500MW by Hummingbird AI Holdings LLC, garnered at least 8,500 signatures. Overnight that figure surged above 13,000.The Government over the weekend announced two Memoranda of Understanding on the development of these data centres, at a time when international tech companies continue to splurge on AI-related spending as part of what some experts have deemed an AI development boom. The spending to construct even more has since faced fierce backlash within international communities, and in the US where some states have called for moratoriums on data-centre development.Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate that tech companies, governments and their partners will spend nearly US$3 trillion on data centres by 2028, some in pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (machines that match or exceed human cognitive abilities) and improved user experiences.According to a Government release over the weekend, the proposed data centres to be built in Trinidad and Tobago could possibly create 5,000 jobs.Bioacoustician and conservation researcher Syam Nath, who started the petition, questioned the construction of hyperscalers (data centres operating in excess of 20MW) and known to consume vast amounts of fresh water as part of their cooling systems.The petition asks for the suspension of development, until “comprehensive environmental, water resource, and infrastructure assessments have been completed, independently reviewed, and made available for public consultation”.Nath told the Express yesterday that in light of the state of emergency and corresponding protest restrictions he felt it was important to document the concerns among the population.“A lot of people were upset and there was a reaction from people not knowing what the next step was. I am very glad that I did this, and for it to get this response,” Nath said.“Everybody is really riled up. We need to try something and at least we have these names. I don’t know if we will call for a public meeting where we can go and ask questions but this is the first thing we can do.”He added: “The Government may underestimate the people but we have a few thousand names and they may see that we are not going to be taken for fools.”Concern for marine life