The cloud is not in the sky, but in Groningen
Democratic management of energy, resources, land, and technology through the AI revolution
L.L. Brouwer (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
E.M. Cocu (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Y.T. Feijen (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
C.E. Knight (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
D.A. Sepulveda Carmona – Mentor (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
L.M. Calabrese – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
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Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly expanding industry and an increasingly significant consumer of energy. Its growing electricity demand poses challenges to Dutch and European Union ambitions for a renewable energy transition. In Groningen, plans to develop an AI supercomputer present both opportunities and risks. This paper examines how such a project can be implemented in ways that avoid extractivist practices while fostering socio-ecological accountability and stewardship. The report explores how democratic procedures and participatory processes can involve urban and rural communities, as well as more-than-human actors, in the just development of AI data centres in Groningen. Drawing on the work of Latour and Haraway, we investigate how technological systems might be designed to remain accountable to Gaia. The political dimensions of AI are further analysed through the perspectives of Morozov, Hao, and Suleyman, while their spatial implications are considered with reference to Otero-Verzier. To understand the regional context, we combine media analysis with situated fieldwork and interviews. Scientific literature is used to assess the energy demands of AI, while its broader political implications are examined through Winner’s work on technological systems. Based on this analysis, we propose a decentralised model for data centre development, alongside the establishment of energy communities along a corridor between Eemshaven and Groningen. In this model, the data centre acts as a catalyst for regional development in energy infrastructure, mobility, and spatial densification. Technological operations are aligned with the temporal variability of renewable energy generation, while decisions regarding energy use and job prioritisation are made democratically within these communities. Rather than pursuing artificial general intelligence, this approach emphasises the development of specialised AI for the public good, in collaboration with industry experts based in Groningen’s excellence centre. Given the rapid pace of AI development and its substantial resource demands, this paper argues for governance models and spatial designs that prioritise stewardship of both technology and the landscape.