Anthropic announced that it will cover the full cost of power‑grid upgrades required for its new data centers, preventing those expenses from being passed on to nearby consumers. The AI firm said it will pay higher monthly electricity charges to fund 100 percent of the needed upgrades and will support new power‑source development. The move follows a broader industry trend, with other tech giants also committing to share infrastructure costs amid rising electricity rates and community concerns about energy‑intensive data‑center projects. Read more →

New York’s state legislature is reviewing two bills aimed at regulating emerging technology. The NY FAIR News Act would require any news content substantially created with generative artificial intelligence to carry a disclaimer and be approved by a human editor, while also mandating disclosure of AI usage to newsroom staff. A separate measure, S9144, seeks to impose a three‑year moratorium on permits for new data centers, citing rapid growth in electricity demand and recent rate increases for utility customers. Together, the proposals address both content integrity and energy infrastructure concerns. Read more →

A massive winter storm swept across dozens of states, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and testing an already stressed electricity grid. The surge in demand from AI data centers, alongside traditional heating needs, caused wholesale electricity prices to spike dramatically in states like Virginia. Utilities scrambled to restore service while grappling with aging infrastructure, climate‑related damage, and the growing energy appetite of AI workloads. Experts warn that such weather events highlight the need for better grid planning and potential demand‑response measures to balance the new load from AI data centers. Read more →

OpenAI announced that it will cover the cost of energy infrastructure needed for its data centers and work to reduce water consumption used for cooling. The company said it will pay for its own energy to avoid raising local electricity prices and will partner with communities to minimize impact, potentially by securing independent energy supplies or funding grid upgrades. OpenAI also highlighted plans to innovate cooling systems and AI design to lower water use. The pledge follows a similar commitment from Microsoft amid growing community concerns about AI data‑center projects. Read more →