Policy

Voters across the United States broadly backed candidates and ballot measures opposing data center construction in the 2026 midterm elections, leading to wins for gubernatorial candidates in major hubs like Texas and Georgia who campaigned on moratoriums. Nearly two-thirds of voters cited data centers and their connection to AI as a factor in their vote, rejecting tens of local development measures despite significant campaign spending by the tech industry.

Google faces backlash from politicians and antitrust advocates after announcing that K-12 schools using its education software will lose access to Google Search unless they opt in to AI features. In response to criticism that it is coercing schools into adopting AI, Google stated that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search will be turned off by default and can be enabled individually by schools.

UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan acknowledged that the government's frequently cited claim that AI would add £400 billion to the economy came from a 2023 report commissioned by Google. The government's own central projection estimates the economic boost by 2030 at £120 billion, less than a third of the industry-funded figure.

An editorial from 404 Media reports that American voters in the November 2026 midterm elections broadly rejected candidates backed by the Trump administration and Silicon Valley executives, despite hundreds of millions of dollars in political spending from AI and crypto donors. Voters also approved 39 out of 40 local ballot measures to restrict AI data center projects and elected officials campaigning on data center moratoriums in states like Ohio and New York.