A new law orders regulators to study the cost impacts of fast-growing, energy-hungry AI data centers. Lawmakers are expected to revisit tougher rules as utilities, advocates and tech groups battle over who pays for the grid upgrades.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is a longtime ally of the tech industry. Asked about its leaders’ rightward shift, he downplayed the moves while still offering some criticism.
A new report estimates that California’s data centers are driving increases in electricity use, water demand and pollution even as lawmakers stall on oversight.
Some teachers say that AI tools, particularly Google Lens, have made it impossible to enforce academic integrity in the classroom — with potentially harmful long-term effects on students’ learning.