英国政府一直忙于争取人工智能数据中心公司的青睐，却似乎很少抽出时间与将不得不住在这些巨大服务器农场隔壁的人们对话。这是反腐败倡导组织“聚焦腐败”周二发布的一份报告得出的结论。报告发现，在2024年7月至2026年6月期间，部长们为讨论数据中心而会见的利益相关者中，84%是企业或私营部门行业协会。相比之下，环保团体一场与部长或高级官员的会面也没得到。
The British government has been busy courting AI datacenter companies while apparently finding little time to speak to the people who will have to live next door to their enormous server farms. That’s according to a report published Tuesday by campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, which found that 84 percent of the stakeholders ministers met with to discuss datacenters between July 2024 and June 2026 were businesses or private-sector trade associations. Environmental groups, by contrast, didn't get a single meeting with ministers or senior officials.
这些发现引发了关于谁能在英国的“人工智能增长区”问题上发声的疑问。政府希望通过降低建设支撑其人工智能雄心所需基础设施的门槛和成本，借此吸引数十亿英镑的投资。根据这份题为《被排除在外》的报告，在两年期间，部长们会见了137家不同企业的代表，而常任秘书长和总干事级官员则未与任何社区团体就数据中心问题举行过会晤。
The findings raise questions about who gets a say in Britain's AI Growth Zones, which the government hopes will attract billions of pounds in investment by making it easier and cheaper to build the infrastructure needed to power its AI ambitions. According to the report, titled Zoned Out, ministers met representatives from 137 different businesses during the two-year period, while permanent secretaries and directors general held no meetings with community groups about datacenters.
当地居民的境遇也好不了多少。部长们仅会见了两个社区团体，且均在其所在地区已被指定为人工智能增长区之后。在其中一起案例中，会面恰好发生在指定宣布的当天。
Local residents didn't fare much better. Ministers met just two community groups, both after decisions had already been made to designate their areas as AI Growth Zones. In one case, the meeting took place on the very day the designation was announced.
尽管人工智能增长区战略可能对电力供应、用水量和当地社区产生影响，政府也未就此进行全国性的公众咨询。“聚焦腐败”发现，在入选地区不存在针对居民的独立咨询，尽管部分开发商自行组织了咨询。即使是地方议会，似乎也难以获得倾听机会。在受五个已宣布增长区影响的十个地方当局和分权政府中，有一半表示除提交申请外，未与部长或数字、文化、媒体和体育部（DSIT）高级官员有过任何沟通。
The government also failed to conduct a national public consultation on its AI Growth Zone strategy, despite the potential consequences for electricity supplies, water consumption, and local communities. Spotlight found no independent consultations with residents in the selected areas, although some developers conducted their own. Even local councils appear to have struggled to get a hearing. Of the ten local authorities and devolved governments affected by the five announced zones, half reported no communication with ministers or senior DSIT officials beyond their applications.
两个当局仅进行过简短的电子邮件往来，另一个则争取到了与一位初级部长进行15分钟的会面。
Two had exchanged brief emails, while another secured a 15-minute meeting with a junior minister.
政府对这些设施建设企业一直较为照顾。“人工智能增长区”为开发商提供更快的规划审批和更便利的电力基础设施接入，目标是迅速扩大英国的算力。正如我们在3月报道的那样，政府还就相关提案征询意见，这些提案可能允许具有战略重要性的数据中心插队接入电网，甚至可能排在已经在等待供电的住宅开发项目之前。
The government has been more accommodating to the companies building these facilities. AI Growth Zones offer developers faster planning decisions and better access to electricity infrastructure, with the aim of rapidly expanding Britain's computing capacity. As we reported in March, the government has also been consulting on proposals that could allow strategically important datacenters to jump the electricity grid connection queue, potentially ahead of housing developments already waiting for power.
因此，虽然数据中心开发商可能很快就能插队接入电网，但居住在这些设施附近的民众对政府的计划几乎没有发言权。“聚光灯”还批评了政府的“人工智能能源委员会”，该委员会包括微软、谷歌和亚马逊云科技的代表，却没有环保非政府组织的代表。其下设的可持续发展工作组旨在审查人工智能对环境的影响，但在2025年4月至2026年7月期间仅召开了一次会议。
So while datacenter developers could soon find themselves jumping the grid connection queue, the people living near these facilities have had little say in the government's plans. Spotlight also takes aim at the government's AI Energy Council, which includes representatives from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services but no environmental NGOs. Its Sustainability Working Group, established to examine the environmental impact of AI, managed just one meeting between April 2025 and July 2026.
人们还担心外部人士在影响政府政策。“聚光灯”发现，2024年7月至2026年9月期间，人工智能公司共聘请了38名前部长和高级公务员，其中包括9名曾在科学、创新与技术部（DSIT）工作过的人。“聚光灯”认为，白厅的透明度规则可能让情况更加模糊。虽然部长们必须申报他们的会面，但无薪顾问不受同样的要求约束，即使他们正在帮助制定政府的人工智能政策。
Concerns also remain about who is influencing policy from outside government. Spotlight identified 38 appointments of former ministers and senior civil servants by AI companies between July 2024 and September 2026, including nine people who previously worked at DSIT. Spotlight reckons Whitehall's transparency rules could make the picture even murkier. While ministers have to declare their meetings, unpaid advisers don't face the same requirements, even when they're helping shape government AI policy.
因此，无法确切知道究竟是谁在向谁施加影响。该活动组织希望政府在收紧公众咨询规则、并强制开发商更坦率地说明其设施将消耗多少电力和水以及将产生多少排放之前，暂停批准新的人工智能增长区和数据中心。
So there's no way of knowing exactly who has been bending whose ear. The campaign group wants the government to hit pause on new AI Growth Zones and datacenters until it tightens the rules on public consultation and forces developers to be more upfront about how much electricity and water their facilities will guzzle, and the emissions they'll produce.
该倡导团体指出，英国正落后于德国、加拿大和爱尔兰等国，这些国家已就其数据中心战略开展了全国性咨询。对于一心想将英国打造成人工智能强国的政府而言，显然不乏愿意协助建设基础设施的公司。但要为那些预期将与这些设施共同生活的人们在决策桌前留出一席之地，似乎又是另一码事。®
The campaign group argues that Britain is falling behind countries including Germany, Canada, and Ireland, which have conducted national consultations on their datacenter strategies. For a government determined to turn Britain into an AI powerhouse, there's clearly no shortage of companies willing to help build the infrastructure. But finding room at the table for the people expected to live alongside it seems like another matter. ®