American politicians who once fought for data centers are now trashing them; Texas Senator makes chatbot that tells why state electricity bills are up

US political figures who previously competed to bring massive artificial intelligence (AI) data hubs to their states are reversing course, are distancing themselves from the facilities as voter frustration grows over surging electricity bills, heavy water usage and fears of job displacement, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. In Texas, governor Greg Abbott had proclaimed the state the center of AI development following a $40 billion investment from Google. However, Abbott subsequently suspended approvals for roughly 1,800 planned data facilities worth billions of dollars, citing severe demands placed on local power grids and water supplies.