Treasury Yet to Calculate Net Benefit of Attracting Data Centre Investment
Treasury has yet to work out whether attracting large artificial intelligence (AI) data centres to Australia will deliver a net gain for the country, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
TL;DR
- Treasury has not conducted a formal net benefit calculation for attracting large AI data centers to Australia.
- The department acknowledges uncertainties in calculating the "rubbery" figures of such investments.
- Productivity Commission research suggests AI could lift labor productivity by approximately 4.3% over a decade.
- Concerns were raised that the biggest gains from AI come from its use, not from power-hungry model training.
- Potential for significant energy consumption by proposed data centers was highlighted.
- There are concerns that value from data center investment may flow offshore, similar to the gas industry.
- Treasury's submission indicates only about one-third of data center investment is expected to directly support Australian activity due to imported equipment.
- Co-location with local industry is not strictly necessary to benefit from AI, but domestic capacity could aid local development.
- Foreign companies may train advanced AI models in Australia without sharing the underlying development process.
- Data center companies will pay company tax, but concerns about 'clever accounting' and transfer pricing were raised.
- National AI standards are being developed to ensure investments offer net economic benefits, covering energy, water, and location.