Scotland must choose - AI powerhouse or AI wasteland

Scotland’s data centres are a strategic asset for the country’s economic growth and investment prospects, forming the backbone of AI, cloud, and digital services that attract global businesses and support high-value industries. Yet some continue to question their value, suggesting they create few employment opportunities and therefore lack strategic importance. In reality, they have the potential to play a central role in driving long-term economic growth across the country. 

Historically, Scotland has regularly been at the forefront of critical new technologies – from the advances of the industrial revolution to the latest in life sciences and deep tech. As the global race to build AI infrastructure accelerates, Scotland must build on that reputation and act with purpose to claim its place at the forefront of the AI wave.

The choices made today will shape the country for decades to come and could position the country as a global financial and technological leader. However, this responsibility does not lie with the Scottish Government alone, it demands united and urgent action across the public and private sectors, including from industry leaders and grid operators such as SP Energy Networks and SSE. The decisions taken now will determine whether Scotland becomes a thriving and prosperous AI hub or is left trailing behind.

If we fail to act, the consequences could be severe. 

Scotland may find itself a spectator to, rather than participant in, the AI revolution, with its once world-leading renewables sector reduced to a silent engine powering the success of other nations. Wind farms could face steep curtailment fees as their energy flows south to data centres in England and Europe, while Scotland becomes a passive consumer instead of a creator of new technologies. Public platforms, healthcare, analytics and education systems could also be hosted externally, with economic value flowing out, not in.

Talent would follow opportunity, with the country’s top data scientists, engineers and AI specialists potentially relocating to thriving AI hubs in cities such as London, Dublin and Amsterdam. At the same time, the roles most vulnerable to AI, such as administration, legal support and customer service, could be displaced by systems hosted abroad. The value these jobs once created would vanish from Scotland, triggering a fiscal spiral.

However, there is another, far more promising future within reach.

Scotland could embrace the demand for AI infrastructure and become a magnet for global investment. Our renewable energy could underpin a new industrial era, ‘a green gold rush’, with data centres, AI labs and innovation clusters driving job creation across construction, engineering, software and green energy. 

This ecosystem could also create a ‘gravity of giants’, with the world's biggest tech companies gaining the confidence to pour investment into the country, bringing research hubs and venture capital with them. Prosperity could also be shared more widely if Scotland were to establish an AI Fund, modelled on Norway’s successful energy framework. Such a fund could capture value from infrastructure access and reinvest it into public services - building long-term fiscal resilience and enhancing national competitiveness. 

Done right, the AI revolution could help to build prosperity for everyone.

As AI continues to make its global mark, Scotland faces two possible futures. The decisions made in the next few years will determine which one becomes reality. Ultimately, the assertion that data centres do not create jobs overlooks their wider impact on Scotland’s broader economic landscape - AI infrastructure investment drives supply chains, innovation, and regional development. 

Scotland has the assets, the talent and the energy. What it needs now is alignment on its goals and the urgency to act. We can export our renewable energy to fuel other nations' AI ambitions, or we use it to power our own. 

Demand for AI infrastructure is booming. The only question is whether Scotland will seize the opportunity or be left behind.

This opinion piece is adapted from a longer blog post, which can be read in full here: [https://blog.datavita.co.uk/blog/scotlands-ai-crossroads-two-futures-one-choice]