A major data centre project touted as New Zealand's first "artificial intelligence factory" is moving forward, with plans to build a $3.5 billion facility in Southland. The data centre, a joint venture between Australian cloud provider DCI Data Centres and local investor Huirapa, is proposed for a site near Makarewa, just north of Invercargill. The development is expected to create hundreds of jobs during construction and require a significant power supply, with negotiations underway with local network company Powernet.
However, the ambitious project has highlighted a critical national challenge. Technology commentator Paul Spain, CEO of Gorilla Technology, has warned that New Zealand is currently "AI illiterate" and risks being left behind. He argues that while the infrastructure is important, the country lacks the widespread skills and understanding necessary to develop and deploy AI technology effectively across the economy and society.
The warning comes as governments and industries worldwide race to adopt and regulate AI. Proponents of the Southland data centre say it will provide the high-performance computing infrastructure needed for AI development and could attract international tech investment. Critics and experts like Spain contend that without a parallel, urgent national strategy to boost digital literacy, education, and workforce training in AI, New Zealand may not reap the full benefits of such infrastructure investments and could fall further behind global competitors.
