An open letter to Kamloops area MPs/MLAs expressing concern about Telus's "AI Factory"
Here is a letter I am sending to our local reps about the "AI Factory" Telus plans to build here. Feel free to modify for your own use. While our local politicians are pretty useless, it's a good idea anyway to start lighting a fire under their ass about a development that is being forced down our throats.
Dear [MP/MLA]
I am writing to express my urgent concern about the plan for Telus to build an "AI Factory" in Kamloops. A new hyper-scaled data center would not benefit our community in anything but the short term. I urge you to hear my concerns and come to your own decision on this planned facility.
Telus has promised this data center will be AI-capable, planning 60,000 GPUs across the province by 2032. Ignoring that most Canadians simply do not want this, it is an incredible economic mistake. The $9 billion planned investment from Telus stands to create only 100-150 long-term employment positions - this is an abysmal number.
As for water usage, Telus has promised to "reduce water usage by up to %80". 20 percent of a big number is still a big number. There have been no inquiries into whether Kamloops can handle this excess stress on the water grid, as local residents deal with consistent water-limiting orders.
Taking the current 'full-steam-ahead' approach is not only worrying, but simply the wrong approach. Without proper regulation Canadian data will not be any more protected than it already isn't. These data centers rely on U.S. proprietary software as well as U.S. hardware units. By aiming to have the facility built the end of the year, we expose our community to more issues without putting proper safeguards in place.
Kamloopsians are worried that we will not benefit from Telus rushing this "AI Factory" into our economy before we have a chance to have a say. I hope you will consider these words, especially at such a critical time.
Signed,
A Kamloops Resident
**Here is the telus press release