A very interesting look at datacentres by the excellent "asianometry’ utube site.
Thanks for posting, @techman. Very interesting. I had no idea ByteDance was building out their own infrastructure either!
It’s interesting to see the backlash against AI in various countries around the world. The criticisms range from it being an over-hyped next word predictor, to an artificial intelligence controlled apocalypse, to a global warming / energy / water / nuclear crisis.
Earlier this year the Deep Seek models that run cheaper and are less energy dependent upset the planning for the next stage of AI deploygment. I presume this is part of the reason for the pull back mentioned in @techman’s video.
Also in the video Australia was mentioned as a future home for some SE Asian datacentres. We have a workforce and the technology environment to design and build these structures. The potential benefits are huge so hopefully we can also solve the environmental issues.
On the week-end I caught Mr Albanese on TV at Amazon headquarters and this article is in today’s AFR. I had a look at an Amazon warehouse last month and if their data warehouses are anything like their distribution centres they will be massive.
As a former US senator once commented on the US defence budget, “Ten billion here. Ten billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
Amazon lifts Australian data centre spend to $20b as AI demand grows
Seattle | Anthony Albanese used a stopover in the United States to hit out at Donald Trump’s tariff war, as he joined the tech community for an announcement by Amazon that it will spend another $7 billion expanding its data centre network in Australia.
The prime minister stopped in the west coast city of Seattle at the weekend on his way to the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Canada, where he will meet Trump on Tuesday local time (Wednesday AEST).
Amazon announced the $13.2 billion it had pledged to spend in Australia between 2025 and 2029 - which is on top of the $9 billion already invested - will now be expanded to $20 billion.
The extra money will fund the expansion of its data centres in Sydney and Melbourne and underwrite two new solar farms in Victoria and one in Queensland to help generate the huge amounts of energy required.
Speaking at Amazon’s headquarters alongside Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman, Albanese heralded the move as an example of close and deep co-operation between two traditional allies.
“We welcome very much American investment in Australia. It’s important to recognise as well that the United States has a two for one surplus when it comes to the trading relationship in not just in goods, but in services as well, and we want to grow the ecoomic relationship between our two countries,” he said.
“I’m sure that when I have the opportunity to have discussions with President Trump, we will speak about the important economic relationship between our two countries.”
Amazon has also recently announced it will spend $US20 billion ($31 billion) on two data centre complexes in Pennsylvania, one of which will be powered by a nearby nuclear power plant.
Garman, who is a strong supporter of nuclear power to fuel the AI boom, said while it was part of the energy mix in the US, he accepted it could be done in Australia with solar power.
Clare Savage, chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, last week warned spiralling costs for the clean energy build-out threatened to derail Australia’s ambitions to capture a significant share of the growing data centre market.
She said pressures in the equipment supply chain for transmission, rising labour costs, and other challenges facing contractors all posed threats.
Garman was confident that this would not be a problem for Amazon.
“This is something that we focus on. It is just making sure part of our investment comes with these renewable projects, and so we bring coordination.”
In a speech to business leaders in Seattle scheduled for later on Sunday local time, Albanese was set to again take issue with Trump’s tariffs.
The US is Australia’s largest foreign investment destination and largest two-way investment partner, and Albanese will say both nations should be trying to build on this and diversify beyond it.
He will also promote Australia’s supply of critical minerals, which are needed by the tech sector and a guaranteed supply of which he hopes will eventually convince Trump to exempt Australia from tariffs.
“We will engage respectfully and constructively, in our national interest,” Albanese will say, according to speech notes. “We will continue to advocate for free and fair trade, for the jobs it creates and the investment it drives. We will hold true to the principle of shared opportunity and collective responsibility that are vital to building a more secure, prosperous and stable region.”
The trip to Seattle is Albanese’s fifth US visit since becoming prime minister in May 2022.