ACTIVISTS OCCUPY MICROSOFT CONSTRUCTION SITE

AMSTERDAM, NOVEMBER 6 /SRNA-Reuters/ – Protesters stormed the construction site of a Microsoft data center in Amsterdam at the start of two days of rallies that are part of a global protest against the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.

Activist groups planned actions in 16 countries today and tomorrow, said the Stop Dirty Data Centers coalition, which brings together environmental groups and digital rights campaigns.

More than 100 activists gathered at the Microsoft site in Amsterdam. They marched arm in arm, climbed cranes, hung balloons and danced as police looked on.

Some carried banners with offensive messages about the data center's construction.

"These data centers are destroying our world. It's becoming uninhabitable because of all the resources they use. That's why we're here today," protester Sem van der Beek said.

The site's owner, Pure Data Centers, which plans to invest more than $1 billion with backing from Oaktree, said it was committed to working with local stakeholders.

"We respectfully ask those on site to leave safely and to engage in dialogue with us about the next steps and any concerns they may have," the company said in a statement.

Other planned actions include a march in Dublin, a protest outside parliament in Warsaw and a demonstration against another Microsoft data center in Denmark.