😸 Voters reject data centers. OpenAI offers concessions.

By Google News AI · 2026-11-08T19:32:34+01:00

Eric Gerard Ruiz & Corey Noles November 08, 2026

Apparently, the fastest way to land an AI sponsorship is to publicly humiliate the AI.

Creator Matt Husk said AI labs came knocking after his videos exposed their chatbots' questionable life skills. In one, ChatGPT turned a few seconds into roughly 10 minutes while trying to time him. In another, he asked AI to negotiate a $10,000 Craigslist bread listing down to $5. It proudly settled for $400.

Husk said OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI reached out, though he turned down OpenAI's offers. According to him, xAI even offered a Tesla for a week in exchange for exclusive videos.

At this rate, the next AI benchmark will involve a Craigslist listing and a complimentary Tesla.

😸 AI companies offer concessions after voters rejected data centers.

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📰 Apple reportedly cut engineers’ daily AI budgets to $200.

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🎓 Google Forms’ new Actionable Insights recommends next steps from surveys.

Imagine a company wants to build a giant facility full of computers near your house. It promises jobs and investment. You just want to know whether your electric bill is going up.

That’s the conversation AI companies are having with towns across America. And this week, voters gave them a pretty clear answer: you haven’t convinced us yet.

In Alhambra, California, 83% voted to ban data centers. In Wells, Maine, 82% backed a 180-day pause. Ballotpedia counted 46 of 47 local data-center votes this year going toward tighter limits. That includes votes before Tuesday, with communities approving restrictions or rejecting proposals that would help development.

Two days after the midterms, OpenAI announced new commitments to the towns hosting its future data centers. Residents would get more say in the plans. The company would cover its power costs and invest in things the community actually wants.

Okay, but shouldn’t it already be paying its electric bill?

The argument is over everything needed to deliver that electricity. A data center can require new power lines and other grid upgrades. Depending on how those costs get divided, nearby households could help pay for them through their utility bills.

An October Senate investigation found companies disputed how much they should pay for shared-grid upgrades triggered by their projects. You can cancel ChatGPT Plus. Getting its infrastructure off your electric bill is a little harder.

Pay for electricity and infrastructure, with financial guarantees so residents aren’t left covering costs if a project falls through.

Publish each site’s water and power use, noise studies, and local hiring information.

Stop requiring confidentiality agreements from public officials, except for narrow security and proprietary information protections.

Give residents input while plans can still change, and fund priorities they help choose.

There’s money attached, too. OpenAI pledged local investments of $80 million in Effingham County, Georgia, and $40 million in Pike County, Ohio.

Other companies have been making their own offers. Microsoft pledged in January to cover the electricity infrastructure needed for its data centers and stop asking towns for lower property tax rates. Amazon’s Built Together initiative promises more than $1 billion over five years for education, job training, energy efficiency, and other local priorities.

Why this matters: The catch is which…

Originally published by Google News AI