u/SaraIbr

I wrote this piece for Swissinfo after looking into why data centres are becoming controversial in Switzerland and elsewhere. Switzerland has one of the highest densities of data centres in the world, and a planned facility in Beringen has triggered local protests.

The main concerns are electricity demand, water use, land consumption and whether AI will accelerate the trend.

I’d be interested to hear how people in other parts of the world see this: are data centres necessary infrastructure, or should there be stricter limits on where and how they are built?

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-ai/these-five-charts-explain-why-nobody-wants-a-data-centre-next-door/91693282

I’m a journalist at SWI swissinfo.ch and recently looked into how AI chatbots are becoming a new layer between consumers and businesses.

One study I cite found that chatbots were nearly three times more effective than traditional search engines at steering users toward sponsored products, often without users noticing.

The piece also looks at Swiss companies, GEO, AI poisoning and consumer protection.

I’d be interested in how people here think about this: are chatbot recommendations already replacing Google for shopping decisions? And should they be regulated differently from search ads?

Link: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-ai/swiss-shoppers-trust-chatbots-should-they/91641620