George Osborne Warns UK Datacentre Opposition Threatens AI Sovereignty
The former chancellor, now OpenAI's head of AI for countries, says British protests against datacentres risk ceding control of artificial intelligence.
George Osborne, the former British chancellor who now serves as OpenAI's head of AI for countries, has warned that growing opposition to datacentre construction is undermining the United Kingdom's ability to maintain technological independence in artificial intelligence.
Osborne made the remarks in direct response to nationwide protests against the sprawling facilities, which critics have targeted over their significant consumption of water and energy. His comments place him squarely at odds with local communities and environmental groups pushing back against the infrastructure expansion.
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In his current role at OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — Osborne is responsible for engaging with governments globally and facilitating the development of datacentres and related infrastructure. The position makes him a key advocate for the build-out of physical computing capacity that underpins large-scale AI systems.
Osborne framed the issue in terms of national interest, arguing that the UK must secure its own datacentre capacity to preserve what he called "sovereignty" over AI technology. The argument reflects a broader geopolitical debate among Western governments weighing energy and land costs against the strategic risk of depending on foreign-controlled AI infrastructure.
The tension between local opposition to datacentre projects and national policy ambitions around AI competitiveness is sharpening across Britain, with Osborne's intervention signaling that major industry players intend to make their case directly and publicly. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
