The Download: Pelosi’s successor targets AI and data centers face power woes

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Nancy Pelosi’s replacement is ready to regulate AI —Grace Huckins As a California state senator, Scott Wiener authored legislation aimed at curbing the risks of advanced AI. Now, after winning a…

10 November 2026

Evolving metal extraction processes

The metals industry has experienced transformational moments before: the Bessemer process, flash smelting, electric arc furnaces, and modern continuous casting all changed what was possible. Yet, for more than a century, most extraction processes rely on techniques and pathways that would be familiar to metallurgists from generations ago. Processes have become larger and control systems…

10 November 2026

The backlash about data centers might really just be about electricity

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. As voters went to the polls across the US last week, I was in Ashburn, Virginia, part of what’s known as Data Center Alley—the world’s largest data center hub. It’s also where…

9 November 2026

Nancy Pelosi’s replacement is ready to regulate AI

As a California state senator, Scott Wiener authored legislation aimed at curbing the risks of advanced AI. Now, after winning a tight congressional race for former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s open San Francisco seat, he could play a key role in setting federal AI policy.  I spoke with Wiener on Friday, only a…

9 November 2026

The Download: empty AI climate claims, and an Nvidia investigation

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Opinion: The climate case for AI has not been made  —By Mary Nichols, distinguished counsel at the UCLA School of Law and the former chair of the California Air Resources Board,…

9 November 2026

Innovating with AI in the special chemicals industry

As companies look to accelerate innovation with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced modeling, the primary challenge is connecting new technologies to reliable data, scientific expertise, and the practical realities of bringing products to market. For specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol, digital transformation is all about giving researchers the tools to test ideas faster, make better-informed…

9 November 2026

The climate case for AI has not been made

This week, as countries meet in Antalya, Turkey for the United Nations climate conference, one topic likely to dominate the conversation is artificial intelligence. The host has already called on countries to commit to ensuring that AI is designed, powered, and deployed in ways that support climate action. But so far, industries around the world…

9 November 2026

The Download: a humanoid cleans house and Samsung builds for the AI boom

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. I watched a humanoid robot clean my apartment. It felt like a taste of the future. —Grace Huckins When I saw an X post about a new humanoid-robot cleaning service in…

6 November 2026

I watched a humanoid robot clean my apartment. It felt like a taste of the future.

I’m not the sort of person who typically pays for a house cleaner. I’m too frugal, and I kind of enjoy putting on a podcast and going to town on my tub with a Magic Eraser. But when I saw an X post about a new humanoid-robot cleaning service in San Francisco, I immediately signed…

6 November 2026

The Download: Texas’s fragile AI boom and energy policy shifts

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Texas was the new epicenter of the AI data center buildout. That might be kaput. Texas is the fastest-growing data center market in the US and ground zero for Big Tech’s…

5 November 2026