Source The Guardian · Published · Open the original ↗
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Australians are yet to see the benefits of AI and datacentres - and US midterms show they could be political kryptonite
Albanese should tread carefully as he struggles to make case for how the new technology will benefit ordinary voters
When will Australia see the benefits of the AI and datacentre boom? So far, all we’ve seen is the possibility of changes to copyright that would hurt Australian creatives , special rules about power and water use, and the threat of mass displacement or replacement of workers, with the trade-off being a mere 10% chance of human extinction .
Now add the Reserve Bank’s assessment this week that datacentres were part of growing “inflationary pressures” when lifting interest rates to an 18-year high .
Warnings about looming negatives have been coming for months , but even the RBA has no idea when to expect the positives. And, as the results of the US midterms show us, datacentres are becoming political kryptonite for voters not sold on the AI boom, meaning the Albanese government should tread carefully.
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