AS of now, 6.12 billion people, or 74 per cent of the Earth's population, use the Internet for communication, entertainment, education and work.
Once concentrated on messaging, banking, news, navigation, blogging, gaming and social media, video and music streaming platforms have made huge strides and drawn billions of subscribers.
Two billion more use the Internet for virtual classrooms while about 3.5 billion of the global workforce uses it for corporate communications and the knowledge and gig economies.
The Internet is the top wealth generator of this era, and now the true workhorses powering it have emerged: 12,260 data centres spanning 180 countries, some in town-like warehouses, some buried underground or inside cavernous mountains, and some hidden undersea.
The United States operates the most with 5,430 facilities, or 45 per cent of the global infrastructure, followed by the United Kingdom (564), China (443), Germany (532), France (391) and India (298). Malaysia is modestly catching up: 26 operators across 64 facilities, including those already operational, under-construction and planned.
From 2021 to this year, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority reported data centre investments of up to RM386 billion.
But in the US, the US$10 trillion artificial intelligence (AI) boom is roiled with project delays, panicky investors and a massive public backlash that might influence next month's midterm elections. There are already spirited protests against data centres worldwide, Malaysia included, over their effects on the environment, resources and energy degradation.
Here, the public, watchdogs and civil society have urged the government to ban data centres near residential areas, fearing that server cooling will siphon water from residential taps and agriculture plots.
Communities worry the AI boom will drive up electricity bills and stress the national grid, especially due to centres built near houses and schools.
By 2035, data centres are forecast to swallow up one-third of Malaysia's total energy consumption.
This explosive potential growth prompted the drafting of the Digital Infrastructure (Data Centre) Bill to regulate industry proliferation and shield energy and water supplies.
The bill, spearheaded by the Economy Ministry, will prescribe that investments add economic value while tackling adverse environmental impacts.
Reacting to the backlash, the Johor government rejected 30 per cent of applications for data centres in 2024 for poor sustainability planning and extreme water consumption.
In February, Putrajaya suspended non-AI data centres to conserve resources. While data centres are welcomed, the race to become a regional hub cannot ignore the numerous adverse side effects. Data centres cannot exist at the expense of the environment and infrastructure.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd