Where artificial intelligence lives: South-east Asia’s data centre boom
The Straits Times
South-east Asia is experiencing a data centre boom driven by demand for artificial intelligence, bringing economic opportunities but also resource challenges. Read more at straitstimes.com.
KARAWANG, Indonesia – Non-stop buzzing fills a windowless Microsoft data centre near Jakarta, part of a tech construction boom sweeping South-east Asia that promises economic opportunities but is also hungry for resources.
As demand for artificial intelligence heats up, technology giants are racing to invest billions of dollars in the region, attracted by a growing plugged-in user base.
New data centres – warehouse-like facilities that store online files and power AI tools from chatbots to image generators – are mushrooming worldwide, and the sector is growing particularly fast in Asia.
Agence France-Presse was recently granted rare access to a Microsoft data centre in Indonesia that is part of the new boom.
No company logo was visible on the vast boxy exterior of the centre, and visitors were only admitted after careful security checks.
Keeping the systems whirring is a constant operation, with technicians on site even during religious holidays.
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