Ruptly
"The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and data centres are set to change the game - but there have been huge environmental concerns about energy costs in the West, despite Big Tech's 'net zero' promises. Recent studies have found that by the end of the decade, AI growth in the United States alone could generate up to 44 million metric tonnes of additional carbon emissions annually while consuming enough water to meet the yearly needs of 10 million people. But now it seems the Global South could hold the answer - truly sustainable AI, harnessing green energy to power the future. In this full focus package, we travel to Kenya, where companies are developing some of Africa’s largest green data centres. “I think sustainable [is] important because of the amount of energy AI is going to use, right?" said John Kamara, founder of the AI Centre of Excellence Africa. "And climate change is still real… we're already seeing it here. It's been raining nonstop, and the weather has shifted." “Sustainable AI, especially, you know, something that I'm very passionate about. I think for the past seven years. We can be a major player in it," he went on. "We can use it to galvanise a whole industry. We can also use it to position ourselves to the world that this is how we are." Snehar Shah is the CEO of iXAfrica Data Centres there: "In a country like Kenya, where 93 percent of our power generation is from renewable sources like wind, hydro and geothermal, we are much better placed than other markets. Like, if you look at Frankfurt or even South Africa, they use a lot of fossil fuel. So that's a big advantage for us." "The competitive advantage for the global South and for Africa is that we don't need to be the first movers. You know, we can learn from all the expensive mistakes made by the Western countries, but then we can do it cheaper and faster," Shah added. In Cairo, Dr Bassant Hassib, Assistant Professor in Political Sciences said the green potential of Africa and others was a gamechanger - but only if the Global South kept control and remained sovereign, rather than let the West use it for its own ends. "The Global South could hold a decisive part of the solution. But only if it's treated as a partner in shaping the AI future, not only as a hosting site for this infrastructure," Hassib said. "The idea is powerful, but it hinges on choices that are made now because hosting is not the same as owning." "If the global South only hosts data centres while compute access is priced out of reach for local actors, while profits flow outwards, environmental costs do not stay local. Then it's not climate solutions. It is green digital extractivism," he added. The legacy of Western 'extractivism' - taking raw materials from Africa, processing them and selling on at huge profits - has seen nations increasingly push back in recent years, pivoting towards local processing and added value to keep more of the true value for their own people. Meanwhile, Dr Marcelo Knobel, Executive Director of UNESCO’s The World Academy of Sciences, based in Italy, said the Global South was uniquely positioned to seize the initiative. "Economic sovereignty, the geopolitical security, and the cultural and social integrity, are absolutely essential for the future of the development of AI in Africa and in the global South," Knobel said. With AI seemingly unstoppable, it seems the Global South and green tech are uniquely positioned to capitalise - and even beat the Global North at its own game."
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