Data centers
Latest stories covering Data centers, with summaries and links to related coverage.
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Google illegally cut down 250K trees in Finland for data center
news
4 min read
Finnish regulators ordered Google project subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy to suspend operations at two planned data-center sites near Muhos and Kajaani after extensive site preparation, including tree removal, began before a mandatory environmental impact assessment was completed. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Agency set an Oct. 23 deadline and said the work could alter the environment in ways the assessment process is meant to identify. Google is developing the sites as part of a $15 billion Nordic AI-infrastructure investment announced in September. The Guardian estimated that clearing near Muhos in northern Finland removed about 250,000 trees across 816 acres. Regulators cited removed trees and topsoil, construction roads and storage areas, altered ditches and culverts, and stormwater work. Residents and conservation advocates said the deforestation displaced wildlife, including wolves that entered nearby Otanmäki, and muddied water sources feeding the Oulujoki River. Google’s Finland chief, Antti Järvinen, said the company believed it had legal approval to begin the clearing and apologized. Google said it would protect water sources and replant trees on about 321 acres. Finnish Association for Nature Conservation chair Hanna Halmeenpää called Google’s conduct “pure arrogance,” while residents also raised concerns about noise and broader effects on the local environment.
Most Americans Say AI Is Bad for Society, Oppose More Data Centers
news
7 min read
An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted Oct. 9-13, 2026 found that 57% of U.S. adults view artificial intelligence as bad for society, while 42% view it as good. Americans were nearly evenly divided on AI’s personal effect, with 50% calling it good for them and 49% calling it bad, although 15% said it was extremely bad compared with 3% who said it was extremely good. Adults under 30 were more negative about AI’s societal effect than older respondents, at 65% versus 53% among those 40 and older. Respondents identified hacking secure systems as AI’s leading risk, with 73% calling it a high risk. Sixty-five percent cited elimination of many jobs, 62% cited people losing the ability to make decisions without AI, and 54% cited greater economic inequality. Only 20% said AI had a big chance of making people more productive, and 13% said it had a big chance of creating many new jobs. Two-thirds said the federal government is not doing enough to regulate AI, and 66% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the technology. The poll also found 66% opposed building new U.S. data centers, rising to 72% for a proposed facility in their own community. Ipsos surveyed 2,545 adults through its probability-based KnowledgePanel; the overall margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Google cleared 300 hectares of Finnish forest
news
2 min read
Finland’s Permit and Supervision Agency, LVV, has asked Google’s local project company, Tuike Finland Oy, to explain forest clearing connected to a planned data center expansion. Google is investing €13 billion in AI-focused infrastructure in Finland, but public reports cited by LVV indicate that roughly 300 hectares of forest—about 420 football fields—were cleared before the full project’s environmental impact was assessed. Google said the clearing complied with Finnish laws and regulations and that the site was surveyed before work began to avoid damage to environmentally valuable areas. Hanna Halmeenpää, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, disputed that account, saying satellite imagery indicates that areas requiring protection had already been leveled. She has asked LVV to halt construction while authorities determine whether formal approval was required before the clearing. The investigation could suspend work on the project. The proposed development is subject to environmental commitments covering energy sustainability, job creation, and support for the local environment. Large data center projects require substantial land and power resources, intensifying scrutiny of AI infrastructure expansion in Finland and elsewhere.