Scotland’s AI minister Alyn Smith urged the country to embrace AI and align with EU rules, while asking the UK to keep pace. At least 23 data-centre projects were in planning by June. Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad told MSPs in September that national guidance would be published by Christmas.
What Happened
Alyn Smith, the SNP minister whose brief covers AI, has urged Scotland to embrace the technology or risk losing its economic upside.
Writing in the Herald on Sunday, he said he wants Scotland to become the “natural place” to locate, create and scale tech businesses, “creating real jobs in the real world”.
Smith is Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education. He acknowledged public unease, saying he understood the “degree of scepticism” but calling “some of the loudest voices” on the technology “problematic”.
He set out the concerns he hears: “There’s concerns about sovereignty and who owns it, who it is accountable to, and the energy and environmental needs of the infrastructure required to make it work — and who’ll own that.”
In his column, he likened AI doubters to people who, at the invention of the lightbulb, “would have called it a dangerous anti-candle device”. The comparison drew criticism from environmental campaigners and community groups.
On policy, Smith said the Scottish Government would take “a uniquely Scottish approach, not trying to reinvent the wheel but aligning as closely as we can to the model used by the EU — a citizen-centred approach to benefit humanity”.
He said he had written to his UK counterpart, artificial intelligence minister Kanishka Narayan, urging the UK Government to use the upcoming EU Summit to align with EU legislation and keep pace with it.
The letter was sent days before the Chancellor, John Healey, used the Budget to announce a “British data centre covenant”.
Under it, operators would need to meet tests on investing in local communities, creating local jobs and protecting local water supplies in return for faster grid connections.
Energy regulation and grid connections are reserved to Westminster; planning, environmental controls and water management for new data centres are devolved to Holyrood.
Smith said his colleague Hannah Mary Goodlad, the Public Finance Minister, is working at pace on new planning guidance “to support only the right development in the right place”.
Goodlad told MSPs in September that national guidance would be published by Christmas and that it was “highly unlikely” decisions would be made on large data-centre applications before then.
At least 23 data-centre projects were in the planning process by June, though many are thought to be speculative. Smith said ministers are also establishing an observatory to track AI’s impact on jobs.
Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens MSP whose party has called for a pause on data-centre approvals, questioned the lightbulb comparison.
He said he would be “shocked if the Minister honestly can’t see the difference” between clean lighting and a technology “already being widely used to generate abusive images, undermine democracy, and promote disinformation”.
Dr Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, asked: “Where on earth is there one jot of evidence that AI is going to bring us economic growth?”
She added that “even the tech lobby group in Virginia’s own figures equate to almost $17m of accumulated data-centre investment being required for every operational job”.
Kathleen White of the Save the Lammermuirs campaign, which is fighting a proposed 225MW data centre near Longformacus in the Borders, said Smith “comes across as rather insulting in his reference to ‘loudest voices’ and ‘chatter’”.
Sandy Begbie, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, backed the minister’s approach. He said “a modern digital infrastructure is a prerequisite to being a high-performing economy”.
He welcomed Goodlad’s framework work, while urging Scotland to learn from Singapore, New Zealand and the Nordic nations.
What This Means For You
For developers and data-centre operators: Energy regulation and grid connections are reserved to Westminster. Planning, environmental controls and water management for new data centres are devolved to Holyrood.
Under the UK covenant, operators would need to meet tests on local communities, local jobs and water supplies in return for faster grid connections.
For business leaders and founders: Smith said he wants Scotland to be the “natural place” to locate, create and scale tech businesses. He said the Scottish Government would align closely with the EU model.
For community groups and campaigners: At least 23 data-centre projects were in the planning process by June, though many are thought to be speculative. Goodlad told MSPs decisions on large applications were “highly unlikely” before national guidance.
Why It Matters
Energy regulation and grid connections are reserved to Westminster. Planning, environmental controls and water management for new data centres are devolved to Holyrood.
The UK Budget announced a “British data centre covenant”. Operators would need to meet tests on local communities, local jobs and protecting local water supplies in return for faster grid connections.
The argument is about evidence. Jones disputed the jobs case, citing Virginia figures of almost $17m of investment per operational job.
Begbie of Scottish Financial Enterprise backed the minister’s approach and said digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for a high-performing economy.
Key Takeaway
- Alyn Smith wants Scotland to be the “natural place” for tech businesses and has compared AI sceptics to critics who would have called the lightbulb “a dangerous anti-candle device”.
- He has asked UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan to align with EU legislation at the upcoming EU Summit, backing a “citizen-centred approach”.
- Goodlad told MSPs in September that national guidance would be published by Christmas, with at least 23 data-centre projects in the planning process by June.
- Opposition centres on evidence: Action to Protect Rural Scotland cites almost $17m of investment per operational job, while Scottish Financial Enterprise backs the minister.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the British data centre covenant?
It is a UK Budget measure announced by the Chancellor, John Healey. Operators would need to meet tests on investing in local communities, creating local jobs and protecting local water supplies in return for faster grid connections.
Who decides on data-centre applications in Scotland?
Planning, environmental controls and water management for new data centres are devolved to Holyrood. Energy regulation and grid connections remain reserved to the UK Government.
What did Hannah Mary Goodlad tell MSPs?
The Public Finance Minister said in September that national guidance would be published by Christmas, and that it was “highly unlikely” decisions on large data-centre applications would be made before then.
Sources
This report draws on coverage from The Herald and uk.news.yahoo.com.
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