AI is changing how we live and work. But what does it take to power it? Are you paying the price?

Every time we pose a question to a chatbot, generate a synthetic image or use an AI-powered tool, we're relying on physical infrastructure that most of us never see. Behind the technology are massive data centres that require significant amounts of electricity, water and land to operate.

As Canada invests billions in expanding its AI infrastructure in communities across the country, the consequences could reach far beyond the tech industry. There are questions that affect all of us, whether we're using AI at work, paying household bills or thinking about the future of our communities. Could growing electricity demand affect household energy bills? What happens when data centres compete with communities for water and energy resources? Will these developments create lasting local jobs, or will the economic benefits primarily flow elsewhere? And what does this expansion mean for Canada's climate commitments? 

Join Paris Marx (Tech Won't Save Us, Hyperscale), Sean Mullin (Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy), Kate Harland (Canadian Climate Institute) and Jeff Ward (Animikii Indigenous Technology), with moderator Isaac Phan Nay (The Tyee), for a timely discussion about the environmental trade-offs, community impacts and potential opportunities associated with Canada's growing AI data centre build-out.

The in-person audience will have the chance to bring their questions to the panel, and together we'll explore who benefits, who bears the costs and what it would take for communities to have a meaningful say in how this infrastructure is developed.

Iron Dog Books will also be on-site selling Paris Marx’s new book Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech’s Data Empires.Can’t attend in person? You can register for a free livestream ticket. 

This event is co-presented with support from The Tyee, SFU Climate Innovation, the Dialogue on Technology Project and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS).

Header Image: Kathryn Conrad & Rose Willis / Better Images of AI / CC BY 4.0

Doors: 6:30 pm
Event: 7:00-8:30 pm

Location:
The Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4

Tickets: 
Indigenous, Student & Senior Ticket: $5.00
General Admission: $10.00