"The UK is entering a pivotal phase in the evolution of its digital economy as artificial intelligence (AI) shifts from experimental innovation to mainstream dependency. Platforms such as ChatGPT now attract hundreds of millions of weekly active users worldwide, while Microsoft 365 Copilot has been rapidly adopted across the enterprise landscape, with nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies integrating it into daily workflows."
"The expansion of UK datacentre capacity is unfolding in an increasingly chaotic and uncoordinated manner. Planning authorities have been inundated with simultaneous applications, with more than 60 separate planning applications for the construction of new datacentres filed in England and Wales last year, creating significant local strain and signalling a lack of national oversight. The geography of datacentre deployment is similarly imbalanced, with the largest clusters concentrated around London Docklands and Slough, two of Europe's most mature and interconnected digital hubs."
AI usage has shifted from experimental innovation to mainstream dependency, with consumer and enterprise platforms reaching hundreds of millions of users and broad corporate adoption. This surge places heavy demand on the UK's digital and energy infrastructure, particularly datacentres. Datacentre capacity expansion is occurring in a chaotic, uncoordinated way, with planning authorities inundated and more than 60 applications filed in England and Wales last year. Deployment is hyper‑concentrated around London Docklands and Slough, increasing the risk of marginalising rural and semi‑rural communities. Growing power density of AI servers and connection requests is intensifying electricity network demands and prompting potentially environmentally costly alternatives. Digital Catapult accelerates deep tech application and emphasises leveraging AI to strengthen the energy sector and supporting infrastructure to mobilise economic growth.
Read at ComputerWeekly.com
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