The AI agenda will bring little benefit to Scottish people
The SNP like to sell the slogan of being “Stronger for Scotland”. The pushing of the AI agendanote-0 will bring little to no benefit to the Scottish people.
Smith and his SNP Scottish Government talk of the billions of pounds which could be generated for the Scottish economy in the coming years, which is pure fantasy in itself as that money would be siphoned away from local communities and our national economy, to instead be enjoyed in foreign boardrooms and bank accounts.
The SNP also completely fail to recognise the potential for the monumental damage to be caused.
As constituents of Alloa and Grangemouth know, I have been involved with the community campaign against a proposed 300MW AI data centre in Larbert.
From these diabolical plans, we know that back up diesel generators will have to be tested regularly, which would deteriorate air quality. We know developments of this kind consume huge amounts of energy, most of which will end up as waste heat, warming the local climate. We know these developments can emit infrasonic noise which cannot be easily protected against and studies in the US have determined come with a health warning.
And importantly, and even Alyn Smith MSP admits this, they will bring very few jobs, especially compared to the sheer scale, size and energy it would use.
The SNP Minister claims that “people are up for these developments” but it is utterly preposterous that Alyn Smith can claim that when 7,121 people officially objected to the plans in Larbert with just 83 submitted in support. The number of objections amounts to more than half of Larbert’s population.
That is not just a few loud voices or a noisy minority. That is a community unified.
The sad truth is that the only people who would really benefit from these developments are the corporations that look to exploit communities in their never-ending quest for profit.
Instead of looking after the needs of Scots, it is sad to see an SNP Government Minister promote the interests of private capital over the interests of those they are meant to be stronger for.
The latest SNP culprit of this is the Scottish Government’s AI Minister Alyn Smith MSP whose recent media comments regarding AI data centres and the disparaging remarks he made about the thousands of Scots that are up in arms at the many monstrous applications that would damage communities, were incredibly insulting.