Von der Leyen’s State of the Union AI data-centre dream will be a nightmare

Von der Leyen’s State of the Union AI data-centre dream will be a nightmare

In last year’s State of the Union speech, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen argued that European AI was “essential for our future independence”. Yet her commission’s plan to fast-track data centres across the bloc risks doing the exact opposite: accelerating the very reliance on US Big Tech that it claims to be escaping. In the process it will trample over environmental protections and override public participation rights. As von der …