A Rangsit University economist warns that Thailand's data center boom—now 73.7% of all FDI in H1 2025—threatens resource competition. While projecting 0.6% annual GDP gain over three years, the analysis flags that a 20 MW facility consumes as much electricity as 36,000 homes and uses 223,200 liters of water daily, while creating only ~17–18 permanent jobs. The researcher proposes eight safeguards: ban resource competition with public supply, mandate renewable energy, enforce transparent resource disclosure and environmental impact assessments, establish community funds, and review BOI incentives. International precedents (US protests, Singapore's expansion freeze, Malaysian objections) underscore rising public backlash.