EXCLUSIVE FROM THE ORKNEY NEWS’ TOP REPORTER.
Rumours abound in Orkney as representatives from a giant Chinese corporation were recently seen in the islands. It is thought the Chinese team were scoping out possible sites for a Data Centre which would be used for the growing AI sector.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) Data Centres are being erected in many places. The power demands of our increasing use of AI is incredible. A planning application has not yet been sought in Orkney but where they have been applied for attracts a lot of negative reactions. Would this be the same in Orkney?
The uses of AI range from scientific research enabling the sifting through of mounds of data to extrapolate a result, to generating fake but real looking videos for Instagram Influencers.
The Orkney News caught up with some of the islands’ landowners who felt that they could set over a few fields that weren’t doing very much for an AI Data Centre.
Edgar Neilsson said that he would give any offer from a Company to use his land serious consideration but it would depend upon an environmental impact assessment of the proposed location where a colony of hedgehogs has been established since 2019.
His wife is in complete agreement with him as she finds the hedgehogs extremely useful in eating up the slugs around her cabbages.
We also spoke to Hagrid Flett who expressed his interest in the potential AI Data Centre. He said:
“We’ve already got the big infrastructure project from SSEN tearing across the landscape. We may as well get in on this AI boom and make something out of it for ourselves.”
Time will only tell if the AI Data Centre will happen in Orkney.
Pictured below one of the visitors from China on the team’s exploratory visit to Orkney.
Fergus Graemsay.
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