Australia gets by with(靠……勉强过活) a fair dose of luck(相当多的运气). Now it wants intelligence, too. It has set about building data centres, the engine rooms(动力引擎；核心部门) of the global drive for artificial intelligence. Investors have plans to pour some $156bn into computing clusters there—eclipsed only by the United States at $1.8trn and China at $295bn.(投资者计划向那里的计算集群投入约1560亿美元，规模仅次于美国的1.8万亿美元和中国的2950亿美元。) The reasons for this are, as with Australia’s mineral riches, mostly the result of good fortune. But its government wants to make sure that it lasts.
澳大利亚一向靠几分好运过日子。如今，它还想拥有智能。它已着手建设数据中心——这是全球人工智能竞赛的动力引擎。投资者计划向该国的计算集群投入约1560亿美元，规模仅次于美国的1.8万亿美元和中国的2950亿美元。与澳大利亚丰富的矿产资源一样，这背后的原因多半也是运气好。但政府希望确保这份好运能够持续下去。
This month senior Australian officials travelled to San Francisco to woo(争取；向……示好) American AI labs. Chastened(受到教训的；被挫败的) by a growing public backlash(强烈反对；抵制) over data-centre investment in America and feeling competitive pressure to expand their computing power, AI bosses are looking elsewhere. On September 16th it was reported that Anthropic(美国人工智能公司，Claude 的开发者) had signed a deal to lease a 2.16 gigawatt facility in Australia’s north-east, on par with(与……相当) the largest in the world.
本月，澳大利亚高级官员前往旧金山，向美国的人工智能实验室示好。由于美国国内对数据中心投资的公众反对声浪日益高涨，加上扩大算力的竞争压力，AI 老板们正把目光投向别处。9月16日有报道称，Anthropic 已签署协议，将在澳大利亚东北部租用一座2.16吉瓦的设施，规模与世界最大者相当。
Some of the reasons for the boom down under(在澳大利亚（南半球）) are obvious. Australia is sunny and has lots of space. It is among the lowest-cost producers of renewable energy anywhere, according to the country’s science agency. The huge amounts of electricity sucked up by chips training and serving AI models is less of a concern if facilities can generate their own solar and wind power.(如果数据中心能自行利用太阳能和风能发电，那么训练和运行 AI 模型所消耗的巨量电力就不那么令人担忧了。) And big sheds(大型厂房；棚屋) emitting strange noises can be kept far away from the population.
这场“南半球”热潮的原因有些显而易见。澳大利亚阳光充足，土地广阔。据该国科学机构称，它属于全球可再生能源生产成本最低的国家之列。如果数据中心能自行利用太阳能和风能发电，那么训练和运行 AI 模型所消耗的巨量电力就不那么令人担忧了。而那些发出奇怪噪音的大型厂房，也可以建在远离人群的地方。