AI Boom Fails to Deliver Economic Growth
The debate around AI and datacentres in Australia has sparked skepticism among experts. Greg Jericho, a Guardian columnist and chief economist at the Australia Institute, is one of them.
Jericho notes that while there may be benefits in medical and scientific research, it's unlikely to be the primary use for these massive energy-hungry datacentres.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has expressed concern about capacity constraints caused by this investment, which Jericho believes is contributing to inflation. Despite the AI boom, the sector is not translating into better living standards for Australians.
New figures show that overall construction fell 2.1% in the June quarter, driven by a fall in engineering construction. Non-residential building work increased, but it wasn't enough to cancel out the fall in engineering work.