BEYOND THE HEADLINES

The Government has signed three Memoranda of Understanding with U.S. companies that could bring more than US$5 billion in investment to Trinidad and Tobago.

Among the proposals are two massive technology projects...

A 300-megawatt data centre in partnership with Ernst & Young...

And another AI infrastructure project beginning at 150 megawatts, with plans to eventually expand to 500 megawatts.

Government says these initiatives have the potential to create over 5,000 jobs and help diversify the economy beyond oil and gas.

But almost immediately, concerns began to emerge.

An online petition has now attracted more than 17,000 signatures, with opponents questioning whether Trinidad and Tobago can support facilities that could require enormous amounts of electricity and water for cooling, while raising concerns about environmental impacts and the lack of public consultation.

Joining us to help unpack both the opportunities and the concerns is Executive Director of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre, at the UWI Dr. Craig Ramlal.