Osborne, now at OpenAI, says UK datacentre NIMBYs threaten Britain's AI sovereignty
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-22
The Guardian reports that former UK chancellor George Osborne, now head of AI for countries at OpenAI, says datacentre NIMBYs are holding Britain back: without domestic datacentres, the UK will cede AI "sovereignty" to the US—"either build them here, or in Ohio, Georgia and Michigan."
Speaking at the Big Brue festival in Somerset, he admitted datacentres are as hard to build as roads or airports. Protesters worry about the facilities' water and energy consumption; the piece argues Europe's digital backbone may hinge on green power fits for AI.
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