Google to build AI data center for US military on Christmas Island
Should a regional conflict occur in Southeast Asia, the US military wants to be prepared with IT infrastructure. Google is now said to be helping with this.
The Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean
(Image: Google Earth)
Google plans to build a large AI data center for the US Department of Defense on the remote Christmas Island between Australia and Indonesia. This is reported by the Reuters news agency, citing non-public documents. Many details are still under wraps, but it concerns infrastructure for the event of a regional conflict between Australia and, for example, China. The data center could be used to control unmanned operations, among other things, for which a satellite data connection would not be reliable enough. Google is reportedly already negotiating the lease of land and the provision of the necessary electricity.
Strategically advantageous
According to Reuters, the choice of location is based on several conflict simulations by the US government, which have highlighted the strategically advantageous location of the island. Christmas Island is only 135 km² in size, belongs to Australia, and lies about 400 kilometers south of the Indonesian island of Java. According to Reuters, the planned data center is to be built near the airport, which is located in the northern part of the island near the main town of Flying Fish Cove. To cover the certainly not insignificant electricity demand, Google is reportedly already negotiating with a local mine operator. A total of fewer than 2000 people live on Christmas Island.
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The data center will enable the US military to perform the type of AI-supported command and control functions that will be needed in the future, Reuters quotes an expert who previously worked for the US Navy. The necessary bandwidth can only be provided via undersea cables, and Google is to get its own. According to the report, the island's internet connection has not been ideal so far. This is also why the people there hope that the construction and operation of the data center will also improve their living situation, for example, through new jobs. However, political decision-makers on the island could still stop the plans, Reuters writes.
(mho)
