Is the AI boom fuelling Australia's inflation problem? | 7.30

Could the AI boom add to inflation and the cost of living? The Reserve Bank has lifted the cash rate again to 4.6 per cent and identified three risks: The indefinite conflict in the Middle East, rising energy and fuel prices, and investment in AI driving up global prices. West of Brisbane is the Western Downs — its highway towns and farming land is home to 35,000 people, sprawling 38,000 square kilometres. The Western Downs Digital Park would be the country's single largest data centre project, and AI company Anthropic has signed an agreement to use part of the proposed $32 billion data centre. Proponents estimate the data centre project would create 1,500 construction jobs each year during the build. At full capacity, they forecast more than 1,400 direct operational roles and more than 2,000 indirect jobs in the wider community. But construction forecasts warn the demand for workers could peak at the same time as major building and engineering projects, fuelling inflationary pressure. Tom Hartley reports. 7.30 is the ABC's flagship current affairs program, delivering original journalism, exclusive investigations, in-depth analysis and interviews on the major issues affecting Australia and the world. With on-the-ground reporting from ABC journalists across every state and territory and around the world, 7.30 has the latest on politics, policy, the economy, cost of living, housing, health, climate and energy, national security and global affairs. Presented by Sarah Ferguson, 7.30 scrutinises the decisions and actions of politicians, business leaders and other powerful institutions through rigorous interviews and investigations. Watch full episodes of 7.30 free and ad-free on ABC iview. Search "ABC iview" on your smart TV or streaming device, find the ABC iview app on your mobile, or click here: https://iview.abc.net.au/ Subscribe: https://ab.co/3yqPOZ5 Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated. #ABCNewsIndepth #ABCNewsAustralia