Recently I asked the AI Minister why the government is expanding data centres while millions are still living under a hosepipe ban. Hours later, for the first time ever, the Environment Agency declared a severe drought in Devon.

Those two events are unrelated but in the future they could be. There are about 500 data centres in the UK today, but their number is expected to multiply as part of a government-backed drive for economic growth.

These centres can be incredibly noisy, environmentally harmful and some of them rely on a huge amount of water to cool the heat their servers generate. According to Water UK, centres are already using 6.6 million litres of drinking water every day in England. Ominously, the trade body recently warned there was not enough water for the government’s expansion plans.

My question was whether the government would legislate so that all future data centres are built with low water dependency. Many already are, but it should be noted that these can require much higher energy use to keep them cool.

The Minister seemed unfazed. He said data centres currently use just 0.2% of non-household water usage, and that the government wanted data centres to be built "in the light of our values and what local communities need". I'm not at all sure what 'values' he was referring to.

He also said he wanted data companies to invest alongside their tech infrastructure in clean energy infrastructure. Perhaps we should require them to fund the new reservoirs we so desperately need, and the green energy infrastructure required to meet our net zero commitments.

From the spread of AI generated misinformation to the harvesting of personal data, the threatening of millions of jobs, and the environmental damage, AI is beginning to feel like an out-of-control technology being thrust upon ordinary citizens whether they like it or not – and data centres are the physical embodiment of this.

The government’s argument that they are critical national infrastructure is a tough sell when US firms are on the cusp of trillion-dollar-plus valuations and warnings swirl of an incoming AI-fuelled job-pocalpyse - or worse.

It is no wonder people are pushing back. We’ve seen this in Devon where an 850-acre data centre has been proposed in Great Torrington, threatening the area’s unique UNESCO biosphere designation and promising excess emissions.

Last year, the International Energy Agency noted an unexpected carbon spike in the US driven by data centres and horror stories of local water shortages and extreme noise pollution abound.

Devon entering extreme drought is yet another reminder of our climate emergency. But for the AI overlords, it seems our planet comes second to personal wealth. In fact, some have even argued we must increase AI output so it can fix the climate emergency it is helping to create. That argument will seem ludicrous to most.