A group of Edmontonians took to the Alberta legislature on Saturday to protest the building of artificial intelligence data centres in the province. The movement was organized in part by Anna Somers, inspired by ‘No AI Vancouver’ protests in B.C. organized by Torin Laroque. Somers said there are other dates planned across the country. “A lot of people here are students, and we’re trying to protect our future and protect our environment, make sure Indigenous peoples are properly consulted before making these big AI data centres,” she told CTV News Edmonton. The protests come amid development of the Wonder Valley AI project, a planned data centre in northern Alberta headed by Canadian millionaire Kevin O’Leary’s company. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has asked the federal government to assess the impacts of the project before building can begin. The centre is currently mapping out water plans and site approvals. Wonder Valley currently plans to draw water from the Smoky River, using under six million cubic metres of water per year, which an earlier report suggests is lower than what the area’s municipality is legally able to use. The First Nation still worries about the site’s impact on the environment – as do many of the protesters at the legislature Saturday, Somers said. “It draws on the environment, it uses up crazy amounts of water and energy. That is something that Alberta is a powerhouse in, but it’s not going to last forever,” she said. A University of Alberta student, she says common use of AI is a “big concern” in her day-to-day life. “We’re looking for all the help we can get, especially from municipal governments who have more of the power to collaborate with the province than the general public,” she said. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum
