Author: Frank Salvato

A Scottish wave-energy company is proposing a novel solution to one of artificial intelligence’s fastest-growing infrastructure challenges: relocating data centers from land to the open sea. Mocean Energy’s “Blue Core” concept envisions floating, modular data centers powered primarily by wave energy supplemented by solar power and battery storage, while using cold seawater for natural cooling. The company argues that offshore facilities could ease pressure on increasingly congested electrical grids, reduce land-use conflicts, lower cooling costs, and provide sovereign computing infrastructure within national waters. The proposal comes as governments and technology companies confront rapidly rising electricity demands from AI computing, with…

Wall Street is increasingly questioning whether the unprecedented spending spree on artificial intelligence infrastructure can generate returns sufficient to justify its staggering cost. The largest technology companies—including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft—are collectively investing roughly $745 billion in AI-related capital expenditures, much of it financed through debt and devoted to data centers, specialized chips, and computing infrastructure. While executives argue that AI demand will ultimately produce substantial long-term revenue, investors are becoming more selective, rewarding companies that can demonstrate tangible AI monetization while punishing those that continue spending aggressively without corresponding earnings growth. The debate has shifted from whether AI…

Apple is facing a proposed $32.5 billion class-action lawsuit alleging that its Photos app unlawfully collected and stored biometric facial data from millions of Illinois iPhone users without obtaining the written consent required under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Plaintiffs contend Apple’s facial-recognition technology creates unique “faceprints” that qualify as protected biometric identifiers under Illinois law and that the company failed to provide legally required notice and retention policies. Apple argues that the feature is privacy-protective, that the data is anonymized and inaccessible, and that it does not constitute the type of biometric information covered by the statute.…

Artificial intelligence is often described as a revolution in software, but its most immediate physical consequence is decidedly old-fashioned: America needs enormous amounts of electricity, land, cooling capacity, transmission infrastructure, and industrial equipment to keep the AI economy running. As hyperscale data centers multiply, the question is no longer simply where to put them. Increasingly, it may be worth asking whether some of them should be put at sea—and whether the ocean itself could help power them. The concept sounds futuristic, but the underlying logic is surprisingly practical. Data centers convert tremendous quantities of electricity into computation and heat. Keeping…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly eroding the traditional boundary between what is real and what is artificially generated, creating unprecedented challenges for individuals, institutions, and society. As AI systems become capable of producing convincing text, images, audio, and video, distinguishing authentic information from fabricated content is becoming increasingly difficult. The technology’s growing sophistication offers enormous benefits in productivity and creativity, but it also increases the potential for deception, fraud, misinformation, and manipulation. The accelerating pace of AI development suggests that technological innovation is outpacing society’s ability to establish reliable safeguards, making media literacy, authentication technologies, and responsible governance increasingly essential. Sources…

Amazon’s construction of a reported $2 billion data center in Gilroy, California, has ignited controversy after many residents discovered the project only after construction was already underway. Although the company followed existing local zoning rules and completed the required environmental review process, approval was granted administratively by a city official without public hearings or a city council vote because of decades-old zoning regulations. The episode has fueled broader concerns over transparency, public participation, and government accountability as communities across the country grapple with the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers. Local officials are now considering changes that would require future…

A new generation of sodium-ion batteries is moving from the laboratory into commercial production, offering the United States and its allies a potentially significant alternative to lithium-ion technology and the China-dominated battery supply chain. Built from abundant materials such as sodium derived from table salt, these batteries promise lower costs, improved fire safety, longer operational life for stationary applications, and reduced reliance on critical minerals largely controlled by Beijing. While sodium-ion batteries remain less energy-dense than lithium-ion cells—making them less suitable for most passenger electric vehicles—they are increasingly viewed as an attractive solution for grid-scale energy storage, data centers, and…

A decade after AlphaGo’s astonishing “Move 37” stunned the world’s top Go players, that singular moment has become an enduring symbol of artificial intelligence’s transition from pattern recognition to genuine problem-solving and creative strategy. The article argues that the same type of unexpected breakthroughs once confined to board games are now appearing across mathematics, scientific research, software development, and autonomous AI systems. Demis Hassabis, the driving force behind AlphaGo and later AlphaFold, contends that AI has moved beyond theoretical promise into practical reality, while cautioning that humanity must pair these extraordinary advances with equally serious attention to safety, governance, and…

A new study has intensified debate over ideological balance in AI-driven news aggregation after finding that Yahoo News’ AI-powered “Yahoo 100” feature overwhelmingly favored left-leaning news outlets while drawing only about 3% of its featured articles from right-leaning publications during a three-month review period. According to the analysis, conducted by the Media Research Center using AllSides media-bias classifications, roughly 70% of the 1,218 articles examined originated from left-leaning sources. Yahoo has stated that its AI products prioritize “authoritative sources,” while critics argue that such standards are being applied in ways that systematically disadvantage conservative publishers. The findings add to a…

New York’s legal campaign against prediction market platform Kalshi has intensified debate over whether state officials are applying the law consistently, as critics question why Polymarket has not faced similar enforcement despite offering comparable event-based trading. The dispute centers on whether prediction markets should be treated as federally regulated financial exchanges or as state-regulated gambling operations. Kalshi argues that it operates under federal oversight through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while New York maintains that many of its contracts amount to illegal gambling under state law. The controversy has also become increasingly political, with opponents of Gov. Kathy Hochul and…