A group of Tasmanian students are demanding stricter rules on artificial intelligence after around 100 protesters rallied at Launceston’s Royal Park on Wednesday.
High school and university students walked out of classrooms, arguing unregulated AI is harming their futures and their state.
The protest comes amid growing community opposition to Firmus Technologies, which is building a $2 billion data centre at St Leonards near Launceston and planning two more facilities at Bell Bay and Wesley Vale.
“It has an enormous gender and racial bias and there is no viable good use for it,” one student told 7NEWS.
“We’ve dealt with not having AI for thousands upon thousands of years – why do we need it now?,” another said.
Students also raised alarm about deepfakes, saying the technology is being used to create harmful images of people without their consent, including images of children.
The group says the action will not stop until stricter guidelines are imposed.
In response, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the answer was simple.
“The fact is, uh, that artificial intelligence is here to stay … that is evident from across the globe,” he said.
“It’s how we ensure there are boundaries around, uh, the use of AI that is important.”
George Town Council rejected a petition opposing the proposed Firmus data centre at Bell Bay on Tuesday despite it attracting more than 5,000 signatures, dismissing it on a technicality.
The council is expected to consider the Bell Bay application in August after extending the consultation period by 14 days following a meeting where more than 120 residents voiced concerns.
Firmus co-CEO Oliver Curtis has defended the projects, saying the St Leonards site would use around 3.3 million litres of water annually – less than a typical restaurant.
He said ongoing employment would total around 52 jobs at St Leonards, 144 at Bell Bay and 20 at Wesley Vale, alongside hundreds of construction roles.
Opponents argue those numbers do not justify the energy demand and scale of the developments.
“There are existing users of energy in Tasmania – they have priority over us,” Curtis said.
“We’re basically last on and first off.”
