The Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence (MPAAI) has dismissed a newspaper report which claimed Government had advanced infrastructure for an artificial intelligence (AI) data centre.In a release yesterday, the ministry dismissed a report published in the Sunday Guardian.“That claim is patently false and is built on a fundamental error. It conflates an inherited Government data-centre project initiated under the former People’s National Movement (PNM) administration with a separate commercial AI infrastructure initiative now being explored by the present Government. They are not the same project,” the ministry stated in a release yesterday.According to the ministry, the report confused two distinct initiatives, one involving a proposed Government data centre and the other a commercial AI computing facility.“As reflected in Cabinet documents approved in 2022, the former PNM Government proposed a Tier IV National Data Centre at Phoenix Park Industrial Estate to support Government digital services, strengthen national cybersecurity and reduce the State’s reliance on costly external data hosting arrangements. Despite those plans, the project was never completed or operationalised by the former administration,” it said.The ministry said a Tier IV National Data Centre is designed to provide secure Government data storage and digital services and its Tier IV classification refers only to the reliability and resilience of the facility, adding that it is not a measure of AI capability.“By contrast, the AI facilities contemplated under the Government’s Memoranda of Understanding with Ernst & Young LLP and Hummingbird AI Holdings are proposed commercial, high performance computing facilities intended to support enterprise AI and other advanced computing applications. They involve a completely different technical architecture, investment model and purpose,” the ministry stated in the release.It also disputed the report’s interpretation of procurement activity and Memoranda of Understanding as evidence that a commercial AI data centre already exists.“They do not. Procurement is not proof that a facility has been completed or commissioned, and an MoU is not a construction contract or final investment approval.“The MPAAI therefore rejects both the highly questionable headline and the central premise of the Sunday Guardian report. They are based on a misconstruction of the underlying projects and technical concepts, leading to conclusions that are unsupported by the facts,” it stated.“It is particularly concerning that a report of this nature should appear on the front page of a national newspaper without the technical rigour, balance and verification that the public is entitled to expect.”The ministry said it expects future reporting on matters of national importance to be guided by the principles of accuracy, fairness, context and proper verification that should underpin responsible journalism.It added that it remains committed to transparency, the modernisation of Trinidad and Tobago’s digital infrastructure and the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence in the national interest.“We will continue to place accurate information before the public and will respond whenever misinformation threatens to distort matters of national importance,” it stated.