New York becomes first state to impose one-year pause on new AI datacenters

Advocates and lawmakers rally in support of a moratorium on new datacenters in New York at the capitol in Albany in May. Advocates and lawmakers rally in support of a moratorium on new datacenters in New York at the capitol in Albany in May. New York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday. Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on the large facilities used to power artificial intelligence products, which she signed at a mid-morning press conference. "As datacenter development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it's my responsibility to take action and lead," Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement.