Great Salt Lake in the news: Utah leaders push back on a big tech water footprint as a data center project scales back after lawmakers’ push. Biographic note: largest saltwater lake in Western Hemisphere, in Utah, key climate influencer.
OpenAI has published research saying it has identified two small influence operations, likely linked to China, that used ChatGPT to generate social media posts and political cartoons about US data centres and tariffs. The company has said the campaigns gained little authentic engagement and found no evidence they meaningfully shifted public debate.
The expansion of AI data centers is meeting increasing resistance from communities, with regulators considering moratoriums and bans while tech giants defend efficiency gains and transparency. New disclosures show progress toward water-use goals, but concerns about environmental impact persist.