Look Up Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Trending Now Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Safety Net Mashable @Home In My Bag Versus Creator Playbook Getting Technical with Mashable All Series Is this the only U.S. town to vote'yes' on data centers? Over 40 measures to ban or restrict data centers passed on Election Day. Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review.

The country's growth minister said the data centers will continue as "essential infrastructure" projects. As the US deals with the fallout associated with the ongoing demand for data centers, the UK is looking to capitalize on it instead, according to one of the country's ministers. Dan Tomlinson, the UK's minister for growth, told the The Financial Times that data center construction will continue as essential infrastructure. Tomlinson told that AI is becoming more widely used throughout the UK's economy, meaning the country will need more data centers to support that growth. However, the minister added that data center construction in the UK will have to invest in local communities and create jobs to receive government support.

Can't cook or shower: Indonesians take aim at data centers The Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) area, a hub for artificial intelligence (AI)-based data center and digital infrastructure development, in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, on Nov. 3. Batam, Indonesia - Cooking and bathing became difficult when taps ran dry in Batam, an Indonesian island where residents are protesting as data centers spring up to power the global artificial intelligence boom. The area had suffered a "long drought" caused by low rainfall, the local water utility operator said, as a strong El Nino cycle exacerbates dry weather. But, as in other countries, anger has been directed at the data centers, warehouse-like facilities that keep apps and artificial intelligence tools running, with water often used to cool their humming servers. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Will Lawrence beat out better-funded opponents in the race to represent Michigan's 7th District. Now, the representative-elect is laying out his plans to fight for a federal data center moratorium. Welcome back to Power Play! Senior writer Molly Taft has been tackling topics around this midterm season's biggest issue: data centers. With the elections over, Power Play will be going on hiatus. But if you've got a question or thought for a story, feel free to shoot Molly an email at [email protected] or reach them securely on Signal at mollytaft.76.

The extended project is to draw its power from the National Grid. The extended project is to draw its power from the National Grid. A datacentre company that said it would power a massive AI development near Glasgow with renewable energy has admitted that the scheme will be entirely served by the National Grid . 'It's smoke and mirrors': hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre DataVita, a key plank of the UK's AI strategy, had promised that the Lanarkshire project would draw 1GW - the equivalent output of a small nuclear reactor, or Britain's largest windfarm - from green sources. But when the Guardian raised questions about the pledge, it said the arrangement was "subject to final commercial agreements, planning, grid and consenting processes".

Why do the midterms matter? In September, a poll found that 70 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans supported limiting the construction of new data centres in the United States. But that opposition was tested in Tuesday's midterm election, with analysts examining key races to see if the public backlash would translate into votes. There were 41 ballot measures related to data centres in Tuesday's midterms, spread across the country. According to Data Centers on the Ballot, an election-monitoring project run by Redbud Consulting, voters are on track to reject data centre development in all but one of the contests.

Fri 6 Nov 2026 13.51 ESTLast modified on Fri 6 Nov 2026 14.10 EST Activists have stormed the site of a Microsoft datacentre being built in Amsterdam, as the backlash to the social and environmental harms of the AI boom spreads across Europe. Protesters from Geef Tegengas, a Dutch direct action group, clashed with police while breaking into a construction site at Westpoort Amsterdam, where some members climbed a crane, lit flares and tied helium balloons to equipment. The action comes amid Europe-wide resistance to the rapid expansion of energy-hungry AI, with more than 100 groups involved in a two-day series of protests to demand moratoria on the construction of new datacentres. Geef Tegengas activists attach a'Genocide' banner to scaffolding at the Microsoft site. Photograph: Storm Groenendijk/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockThe break-in at the Dutch site, where protesters hung banners objecting to Microsoft's services to the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was separate from the pan-European "Stop Dirty Data Centres" campaign, which targeted the same site but whose affiliated members stayed outside the perimeter fence.

Campaigners say the environmental and social costs of the sites are too high. Campaigners say the environmental and social costs of the sites are too high. Thu 5 Nov 2026 04.00 ESTLast modified on Thu 5 Nov 2026 04.02 EST Protesters across Europe are planning two days of action against datacentres this week with demonstrations taking place in 15 countries. More than 100 groups are joining together for the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" events on Friday and Saturday. They are calling for a moratorium on large projects, citing environmental and social costs that "we can no longer afford".

Google Is Forcing AI Overviews in Classrooms. Google is tying up AI Overviews with traditional search, angering parents and educators who worry that easy, machine-generated answers are leaving kids less capable. Two weeks ago, an IT administrator for an elementary-middle school took to Google's support forums requesting a way to block students from seeing AI Overviews --the chatbot-generated answers at the top of search results. "This seems counterproductive to what we're trying to teach," the administrator wrote . "Students need opportunities to navigate search results, examine sources, and draw their own conclusions rather than being handed an AI-generated synthesis before they've even started."

Some critics called Google's announcement a'hostile ultimatum'. Some critics called Google's announcement a'hostile ultimatum'. Google says there's no way to use Search without using artificial intelligence In announcement geared to schools, tech giant shows how entwined AI is with the world's most popular website Google just acknowledged that you can't use Google Search without using artificial intelligence . The search giant announced a slate of new AI products for classrooms and schools on Tuesday as well as more ways for teachers and schools to limit or restrict use of those AI tools. The company said the schools should have control over whether students use AI in the classroom.