AI · AI today, November 5, 2026
Policy
Meta warns post-election backlash against data centers will slow AI expansion
· Aster editorial team
AI-generated imageMeta president Dina Powell McCormick said the results of the US midterm elections will make it harder to build data centers. She acknowledged the industry has “not done as good a job as we needed” explaining their benefits, and said the backlash is tied to how people feel about AI in general. In her view, communities accept these projects when they see local gains, such as jobs or tax money for teachers and first responders. She spoke at a Wall Street Journal tech conference.
Why it matters
Data centers are the computer-filled buildings where AI runs, and they use a lot of electricity and water. If more communities push back, companies will have to negotiate better with neighbors, which could delay AI services or make them more expensive.
For the technical crowd
Meta has data centers in 23 states and five planned projects of 1 gigawatt or more, including one in Texas. Powell McCormick said Meta pays for its own electricity in its successful deals and gets calls every day from companies wanting to lease its compute. Its Muse agent has 10 million users.
· Source: TechCrunch
More from AI today
- OpenAI launches GPT-6 Cyber, a model that has already found 81 serious flaws in FirefoxOpenAI introduced GPT-6 Cyber, a model built to find and exploit security flaws in software. For now, only approved customers in its Daybreak Red…
- Baidu releases ERNIE 5.5 Flash Base, a 280-billion-parameter open modelBaidu released ERNIE 5.5 Flash Base, a language model whose files anyone can download from Hugging Face. It's a “base” model: it ships without the…
- Greg Brockman says OpenAI could be ready to go public in 2027OpenAI president Greg Brockman answered “I think so. Yes” when asked whether the company would be ready for an IPO next year. He spoke at a Wall…
- Google launches Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash: AI videos up to 15 seconds long and 30% cheaperGoogle introduced Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash, a model that creates and edits videos from text, images or audio. Clips can now run up to 15 seconds, up…
- Tencent launches Hy4, its first model that sees images and operates software on its ownTencent unveiled Hy4, a language model that understands images and can operate software by itself, something its earlier versions couldn't do. It's…