Data centres could produce as many emissions as the United Kingdom by the end of the decade, occupy as much land as Northern Ireland, and consume enough water to meet the drinking needs of every person for more than a year.
The United Nations issued the warnings in a report into the environmental impact of artificial intelligence on Thursday, which also called for regulatory changes to avert its most harmful impacts.
The findings come as technology companies race to build more data centres in Australia, and less than a month after the Senate launched an inquiry into their regulation and spread.
The 56-page report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health analysed the direct and indirect impacts of data centres, including their energy, water and land use, as well as carbon emissions.
