All Things AI

This week's feature goes deep on the regulatory turn in Texas and Seattle. Here is everything else that moved in the AI and energy story: the polling that turned the politics, the water map driving the fights, a reality check on what data centers actually do to your electric bill, and the demand curve that has utilities rewriting their rate books. Public Support for the Data Center Boom Has Collapsed A Reuters/Ipsos poll released June 11 put hard numbers on a mood that politicians have been reading for months. Just 33% of Americans agreed that building data centers at a rapid pace is mainly a good thing, while 64% disagreed. Only 14% said they would be comfortable with one built near them, and 57% said they would oppose a nearby facility outright. The opposition is not partisan noise: 77% of respondents, in similar shares across Republicans, Democrats, and independents, said they worry artificial intelligence will make electricity more expensive. The survey of 4,531 people ran for six days and closed June 9. Reuters reporters Valerie Volcovici and Jason Lange tied the result directly to the November midterms, noting that data center construction has become an issue campaigns are...