Driftspace
On the Indonesian island of Batam, a rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence
On the Indonesian island of Batam, a rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centres has collided with a water shortage that left some residents unable to cook or bathe. At least eighteen such facilities are under construction on the island, and reporting this week describes protests by locals whose taps ran dry. Officials from the city authority attributed recent supply disruptions primarily to an extended dry season and an electrical fault rather than data centre demand — a position disputed by residents and community groups. The wider trend is striking: a consultancy report cited in regional media projects that data centre capacity across Southeast Asia will roughly triple by 2030, driven by fast-growing demand for AI processing power. Supporters of the expansion emphasise job creation and investment; critics argue that the heaviest resource costs fall on communities least likely to benefit directly from the technology. When new digital infrastructure arrives in a community, how should the trade-offs between economic development and everyday needs be decided?