Swiss activists protest new AI data centre over energy use and ethics

The activist group Aufstände der Allmende has established a protest camp near Schaffhausen, Switzerland, targeting the planned Beringen data centre. The camp warns that the facility will double the canton’s electricity consumption, adding to Switzerland’s already highest density of data centres per capita in Europe. Organisers link the project to broader climate concerns and to the ethical risks of artificial‑intelligence systems, including their use in weapons and the concentration of data and rare‑earth resources in the hands of tech oligarchs. The group calls for AI to be owned by society rather than private corporations and distinguishes between what they term “Velo‑KI” (beneficial, limited AI) and “Rocket‑KI” (large‑scale, unchecked models).