{
  "id": 19911354,
  "title": "Queen: Assess data centres' impact on environment, communities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/queen-assess-data-centres-impact-on-environment-communities",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T03:46:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/11/1577318/queen-assess-data-centres-impact-environment-communities"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, has urged authorities, private entities, and the public to assess the environmental and community effects of data centre development. She highlighted concerns over excessive electricity and water use, land degradation, and societal impacts, including noise and persistent illumination. Queen Sofiah, who is also UTM chancellor, spoke at the 70th Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) convocation, emphasizing that technological progress must align with environmental sustainability. She stressed that human activities have already led to climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, urging the educated community to take responsibility for preserving the planet. Queen Sofiah also advocated for using artificial intelligence to enhance societal quality of life rather than solely for profit, urging graduates to embrace ethical and responsible technological advancements amid rapid AI evolution.",
  "summary": "JOHOR BARU: Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, has called on the authorities, the private sector and the public to evaluate the impact of data centre development on the environment and community well-being.",
  "key_points": [
    "Queen of Malaysia urges assessment of data centres' environmental impact",
    "Concerns raised over electricity, water, land degradation, and societal effects",
    "Technological progress must align with sustainability, AI for societal benefit"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Queen’s call for impact assessments signals a shift toward prioritizing environmental sustainability and community well-being over the unchecked expansion of resource-heavy digital infrastructure and profit-driven artificial intelligence.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}