{"id":25318,"date":"2026-11-05T14:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=25318"},"modified":"2026-11-05T14:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:07:24","slug":"the-download-texass-fragile-ai-boom-and-energy-policy-shifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=25318","title":{"rendered":"The Download: Texas\u2019s fragile AI boom\u00a0and energy policy shifts"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

This is today’s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Texas was the new epicenter of the AI data center buildout. That might be kaput.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Texas is the fastest-growing data center market in the US and ground zero for Big Tech’s largest AI buildouts. But the blue wave that swept the Lone Star State may jeopardize that position.<\/p>\n

Democrat James Talarico won the US Senate seat, Gina Hinojosa won the race for governor, and Democrats will take control of the Texas House for the first time in 24 years. They won after making data centers a central issue on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

The swings could spell trouble for hyperscalers with ambitious plans in the state. They also add to growing anxiety that America\u2019s AI buildout could stall.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the election results could reshape AI\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u2014James O’Donnell<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for US energy policy after the midterm elections?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Democrats have taken control of both the House and the Senate, but we probably won\u2019t see major federal climate and energy legislation while Trump remains president. The midterm elections could, however, be a big deal for energy at the state and local level.<\/p>\n

The results could shape everything from the state grid and data center development to renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

Find out what the midterms could mean for the future of US energy.<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n

This story<\/em> is from The Spark, our weekly climate tech newsletter.<\/em> Sign up<\/em> to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n

A new bill could change how the US builds energy infrastructure <\/strong><\/h3>\n

A sweeping bit of legislation designed to cut red tape could speed up the buildout of energy infrastructure in the US.<\/p>\n

On November 9, the Senate is set to vote on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). It\u2019s a plan that could start an overhaul of the slow, complicated process for getting energy projects approved. But some environmental groups oppose the bill, or parts of it.<\/p>\n

Explore the trade-offs behind America’s proposed permitting overhaul.<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em><\/p>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 America\u2019s data center boom has hit a political wall<\/strong>
Voters opposed them in 40 of 41 midterm ballot measures. (CNBC)
+ Six cities voted to ban data centers outright.<\/em> (404 Media)
+ Meta says building data centers has just become much harder.<\/em> (WSJ $)
+ The midterm results could also boost China\u2019s AI ambitions.<\/em> (SCMP)
+ No one wants a data center in their backyard.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n

2 Blood banks have become the latest victims of fridge hacks
<\/strong>Hackers raised the temperatures at three stores in France. (Guardian)
+ Alarms alerted staff before any blood products were lost.<\/em> (CBS)
+ It\u2019s an escalation after hundreds of supermarket fridge hacks.<\/em> (CNBC)
+ Experts are split over who\u2019s behind the attacks.<\/em> (BBC)<\/p>\n

3 Democrats are preparing to investigate Elon Musk<\/strong>
His firms have won over $16 billion in government contracts. (NPR)
+ His unprecedented spending may even have hurt Republicans. (Atlantic $)
+ Texas\u2019s blue wave has rattled Musk and SpaceX.<\/em> (Ars Technica)<\/p>\n

4 The new Congress could challenge Trump\u2019s science cuts<\/strong>
But he can still veto any bills they pass. (Nature)
+ Trump has already dealt many blows to science.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n

5 China is luring AI expertise in while blocking it from leaving
<\/strong>It just blocked SoftBank\u2019s bid for ABB Robotics. (WSJ $)
+ Its chipmakers are poaching engineers from foreign rivals.<\/em> (CNBC)
+ A star mathematician has left the US to develop AI in China.<\/em> (SCMP)<\/p>\n

6 Watchdogs have sued over tech titans advising the Pentagon<\/strong>
Musk and Palmer Luckey could profit from their advice. (Military.com)<\/p>\n

7 New research tests whether AI knows its own \u201cthoughts\u201d<\/strong>
It\u2019s trying to map out AI\u2019s capacity for introspection. (Quanta)
+ AI consciousness debates are a trap.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n

8 Astronomers are mystified by little red dots spotted by JWST
<\/strong>They could be the first supermassive black holes. (Economist $)<\/p>\n

9 Scientists have taken a first step into the zeptoverse<\/strong>
A rare particle decay could reveal a world smaller than atoms. (Wired $)<\/p>\n

10 A NASA telescope has plunged to earth after 22 years in space
<\/strong>Its bristles produce charges that kill bacteria. (NBC News)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe revolt against data centers was one of the top issues of the 2026 election, and in a few years we will look back on it as just the early tremor of a much bigger AI earthquake upending American politics.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u2014Greg Casar, a Democratic congressman from Texas, tells Wired that the backlash against data centers could herald a much bigger political fight over AI.<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine\u2019s drone defense<\/h4>\n

Serhii \u201cFlash\u201d Beskrestnov is, at least unofficially, a spy. Once a month, he drives to the frontline in a VW van equipped with radio hardware, roof antennas, and devices that monitor drones. Over several days, he searches the skies for transmissions that can help Ukrainian troops.<\/p>\n

Drones define this brutal conflict, and most rely on the radio communications Flash has obsessed over since childhood. Though now a civilian, the former officer has taken it upon himself to inform his country\u2019s defense on all matters related to radio.<\/p>\n

Unlike traditional spies, Flash shares his discoveries with over 127,000 followers\u2014including soldiers and officials\u2014on social media. His work has won fans in the military, but also sparked controversy among the top brass. Read the full story.<\/p>\n

\u2014Charlie Metcalfe <\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?<\/em> Drop me a line<\/em>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ Mars has a new mystery: cliffs that look nothing like their surroundings.
+ After a long wait for clear skies, a photographer captured the perfect St Petersburg sunset.
+ Timor-Leste has eliminated trachoma, making the whole of Southeast Asia free of the blinding disease.
+ From feasting bald eagles to a northern gannet bursting through the ocean\u2019s surface, these are the year’s best bird photos.<\/p>\n

#Download #Texass #fragile #boomand #energy #policy #shifts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[15089,803,270,5861,4465,3019,15088,15087],"class_list":["post-25318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-boomand","tag-download","tag-energy","tag-fragile","tag-policy","tag-shifts","tag-texass","tag-the-download-texass-fragile-ai-boom-and-energy-policy-shifts"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102.jpg",1200,600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-300x150.jpg",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-768x384.jpg",640,320,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-1024x512.jpg",640,320,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102.jpg",1200,600,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102.jpg",1200,600,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-1024x512.jpg",1024,512,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2303431102-540x340.jpg",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}