Who Pays for the High-Powered Grid that Data Centers Need?
Texas would make large AI hyperscalers pay for the wires that connect them. Whether they must also pay directly for the broader grid work needed to serve them is still an open question.
Artificial intelligence
As License Plate Readers Expand in Texas, Privacy Advocates Are Fighting Back
The Kyle City Council voted to apply for more state grant money for Flock Safety cameras despite a string of local-level contract cancellations of the booming surveillance company’s services.
The Texas AI Boom Is Outpacing Water Regulations
Each data center can “drink” as much as an entire community. Yet, Texas does not require these tech firms to disclose projected or actual water consumption.
Texas Police Invested Millions in a Shadowy Phone-Tracking Software. They Won’t Say How They’ve Used It.
One sheriff who leads an anti-smuggling task force says the software helps “develop leads to eventually obtain probable cause.” Civil liberties experts say its use violates constitutional rights.
The Eyes of Chihuahua
The 20-story Torre Centinela looming over Juárez is part of a much larger AI-powered surveillance system that won’t stop at the Texas-Mexico border.
In Abilene, Stargate Project Puts AI Boom Ahead of Human Health
The first data center for a $500-billion artificial intelligence project arrives in small-town Texas, alongside a potentially harmful natural gas plant.
AI Is Dead
A Texas author earned a certificate in AI—but there’s no way he’d ever use it to write a book.
Get the newsletter
