The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has stated that Spain extends a "red carpet" to the arrival of investment in data centers, as long as key resources such as electricity or water, which are increasingly limited in the country, are not put at risk.
The head of the Executive delivered this message on Wednesday during his speech at the forum "Latin America, the United States and Spain in the Global Economy Forum," held in New York.
In his address, Sánchez drew the line between attracting capital and protecting the public interest: "That is the difference between laying out a red carpet or showing a red card."
In this regard, he defended the installation of data processing infrastructures that generate quality jobs, strengthen technological sovereignty, and boost local suppliers, while ensuring environmental sustainability and the security of the electricity supply.
"Open arms to investment in data centers, logically, that create quality jobs, that also create technological sovereignty, employment, knowledge, local suppliers, and that also, above all, does not compromise the supply of electricity, resources like water, which in our country, unfortunately, are increasingly scarce," he detailed.
According to the president, the combination of connectivity, human capital, and competitive renewable energies places Spain in a favorable position.
"That advantage of clean, abundant, and competitive energy is the gateway to the next great opportunity: the boost to artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation," he emphasized, highlighting that the country has the second fastest-growing AI entrepreneurial ecosystem in the European Union in the last five years.
He also highlighted the support of the public sector through strategic investments, including the launch of large European AI gigafactories on Spanish territory.
The Spanish public-private consortium, formed by the Government, the Generalitat of Catalonia, Banco Santander, ACS, Telefónica, and Multiverse Computing, will begin presenting its proposal this month to compete for one of the seven European AI gigafactories.
Regarding the risks associated with this technology, Sánchez warned that at this moment there is not "a race, but a stampede," something he considers "worrisome due to its implications."
For this reason, he has called for early and well-oriented regulation from the institutions, stating that "one single actor is not enough to bring order to the prevailing chaos," and has urged democracies to elevate this discussion to national, regional, and multilateral levels.
A "third way" for safe AI
The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, has defended a "third way" to develop "safe" artificial intelligence (AI) in the face of the "unbridled race" between the United States and China, following Sánchez's announcement of the "IA360 Plan," warning that this technology "cannot go to market without any rules, just as cars did not."
The President of the Government presented the "IA360 Plan" for the responsible deployment of AI this Monday and has announced that he will convene social agents --employers and unions-- next month to progress "in a great national agreement and a new social contract" around this technology.
"It is evident that this challenge of artificial intelligence is no longer for 5, 10, or 50 years from now, it is right now. And it feels like we are arriving a bit late," the head of the Executive has pointed out during the event "IA360: Plan for a responsible deployment of AI," held this week at the Moncloa Complex.