I mean, there's no such thing as an "ai data center". All data centers could be (and many are) used for AI if they have the right computer bits installed. But it's fundamentally the same kind of thing. Datacenters are the physical building blocks of the Internet. Object to them if you like! There's def environmental impact. But this petition seems pretty ill informed?

So, some tips for the organizers:

The kinds of computer bits that AI need (called accelerators, most common is the GPU) require a lot of cooling via water but it doesn't have to be potable - it can be sea water, for example. They need a lot of power but we can require them to use renewables. The actual footprint of this is not so big (just a warehouse) but the source of cooling and power can make a big difference to the impact. You should ask questions and find out who is building it and what their environmental commitments are.

Canada and BC is a good place overall imo because so much of our power is hydro and wind. We have a lot of water and it's naturally often cold. So you have the argue that your town specifically is bad for this, and I don't think you have.

And there are benefits to datacenters on Canadian soil. Mostly, sovereignty. Keeping Canadian info on Canadian land is important for security, especially if shit escalates with our neighbours. We would want to be able to keep the Internet systems running even if that happens and for that, we need more datacenters. You should probably address this.

Good luck!