The Material Anatomy of AI: Infrastructure and Sovereignty

The article demythologizes the concept of the 'cloud,' revealing it as a physical network of buildings, processors, and energy systems. The author argues that generative artificial intelligence drastically increases the demand for material resources, transforming data centers into modern heavy industry factories. A key issue is computational sovereignty—control over semiconductors and energy becomes a new determinant of state power, analogous to the role of steel or oil in the industrial era. The text draws attention to the rapid increase in electricity consumption (IEA forecasts through 2030) and local burdens on energy and water grids, shifting the problem of AI from the realm of computer science to that of spatial planning and strategic state policy.