During the past week, I heard one expert argue that Filipinos should give Pax Silica a chance because of its promise of industrialization and economic growth.

It’s a fair argument. The Philippines could use industrialization. We need better jobs, stronger technological capabilities, and a larger role in the global semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries where we currently participate in the lower rungs of assembly, testing and packaging.

But I would disagree with the suggestion that we should tone down the level of scrutiny, especially when this matter — and it’s no small one by geographical measure alone — feels like it’s moving at remarkable speed.

Since I began writing this piece, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) walked back its initial statements on data centers being part of Pax Silica, saying that the site will not host data centers after all, but semiconductor and advanced manufacturing facilities. 

Among other things, it reinforces a broader point: public scrutiny works.

That process should continue, because with the removal of data centers, what happens as well to the initial estimates for energy, water and electricity use? This is still a huge project, data centers or not. 

To appreciate the scale of what is being proposed in Tarlac, consider Meta’s Hyperion project in Louisiana. The AI-related campus spans roughly 3,650 acres and is expected to require about five gigawatts of power. Pax Silica, meanwhile, envisions a 4,000-acre industrial hub with a projected power requirement of around three gigawatts.

The comparison is not meant to suggest the two projects are identical. Rather, it illustrates the sheer scale of AI-related industrial infrastructure now being contemplated.

Whether that electricity ultimately powers semiconductor fabrication, mineral processing, or artificial intelligence infrastructure, Pax Silica will permanently reshape part of Tarlac’s landscape. 

If we needed any more reason to scrutinize the proposal, we only need to revisit what has happened in the United States.

Over the past few days, I reviewed investigative video reports such as those by Business Insider, PBS, and More Perfect Union documenting US communities already living beside large-scale AI infrastructure and the experts studying its impacts.

What’s striking is that many of the questions now being asked about Pax Silica are the same questions Americans are asking after the AI boom and data center buildout have already begun.

The companies involved are, by now, household names. Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are collectively investing hundreds of billions of dollars to build the computing infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence. 

Remember, even with the claim now that there will be no data centers in Pax Silica, the whole project is still tied to a proposed AI value chain led by the US — and AI, no matter where we sit on that chain, is ultimately a power- and resource-hungry creation.

There are lessons to be learned from how Americans are experiencing this AI expansion. 

In the More Perfect Union investigation, one New Jersey resident only discovered something was happening after noticing her electric bill had climbed despite using less electricity.

“I started asking my neighbors, is your bill also going up? And they had no idea that this was happening.”

Digging deeper, the journalists found that many agreements between utilities and technology companies remained hidden from public view. As one expert put it, “the deals between tech companies and utilities are typically hidden from the public,” making it difficult for residents to understand who ultimately pays for the infrastructure needed to support AI.

Reporting by The New York Times on Meta’s Hyperion project in Louisiana described how confidential negotiations with local officials became a flashpoint in the debate over transparency, concluding that the project “could be a blueprint for other companies intent on avoiding local opposition in order to get massive data centers built fast.”

Communities interviewed in Virginia by PBS described living beside facilities operating around the clock. Residents complained about the constant mechanical hum generated by cooling systems, while experts discussed diesel backup generators and proposals for new natural gas-fired power plants built largely to satisfy AI-related electricity demand. Residents also questioned whether they had been meaningfully consulted before projects moved forward.

What’s the point here? These US communities experienced strategies underpinned by secretive deals and what appears to be a lack of deep consultation with affected communities with regards to electricity, water, transparency, and environmental safeguards. These households are left trying to adjust after the fact. 

Energy should remain a key subject in future discussions. 

Pax Silica’s plans include a 500-megawatt solar farm alongside a proposed 1.2-gigawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant. LNG burns cleaner than coal but remains a fossil fuel. It is not a renewable energy source, raising legitimate questions about the project’s long-term sustainability and carbon footprint.

As we’ve seen in Capas, Tarlac residents have expressed concerns over consultations and reports of land acquisition efforts. Those concerns deserve to be addressed fully and transparently.

If these are addressed now with genuine community discussions, and with transparency towards the national audience, we could avoid the sudden stopgap measures happening in some US states now with their moratoriums on data centers. 

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott recently halted approvals for new data centers seeking connection to the state’s power grid until regulators could audit projects’ electricity demand, water consumption, cooling systems, ownership, and plans to reduce impacts on nearby communities.

New York reached a similar conclusion. Governor Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers while regulators develop a framework to assess their effects on electricity demand, water use, water quality, air quality and local communities before additional projects receive environmental permits.

Both continue to pursue AI development. But both have concluded that responsible oversight must keep pace. 

Then there are the jobs. The sudden exclusion of data centers in the Pax Silica plan looks to be an appeasement for critics saying that data centers don’t need to be manned by a lot of individuals, and therefore will not create lasting jobs. 

That was a similar concern in the US where technology companies frequently promote thousands of jobs accompanying new developments. Yet experts cautioned to distinguish between temporary construction employment and permanent operational work. Once built, AI facilities employ far fewer workers than many people imagine because much of the operation is automated.

The United States is already living through the consequences of rapidly expanding AI infrastructure. Its communities have taught us that asking difficult questions after agreements are signed is often too late.

Filipinos — including their representatives in the Senate and the House — still have the opportunity to ask those same questions before pen is put to paper and before concrete is poured.

We should not waste that opportunity, informed by hindsight of the American experience. – Rappler.com