yà zhōu

亚洲

shù jù

数据

zhōng xīn

中心

rè cháo

热潮

de

的

yǐn cáng

隐藏

dài jià

代价

Many countries in Asia are rapidly building data centers, hoping to attract tech investment and develop the digital economy.

But this boom also brings many problems.

Places such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are starting to face pressure on water, electricity, air pollution, and land use.

For example, in India, data centers use a lot of water. In some already water-scarce areas, the situation has become even more serious, and local residents also have to pay more for water.

Farmers are also worried that their land will be taken at a low price, but the long-term jobs created after construction are not many.

In Southeast Asia, the hot and humid weather means data centers need more electricity for cooling, which may put more pressure on the power grid and may also raise electricity prices for residents.

Some large projects in Central Asia also rely on coal or natural gas for power, which will worsen pollution.

Experts are also worried that artificial intelligence is not yet guaranteed to be profitable. If demand is not as high in the future, some data centers may be abandoned before they are even finished.

In that case, what may be left are expensive, outdated facilities that are not very useful.

In many places, when approving projects, governments have not seriously listened to residents' opinions and also lack clear environmental rules.

Developing technology is important, but governments should first think carefully about who benefits and who bears the costs.