Will Maine Governor Janet Mills Sign Nation's First AI Data Center Ban Into Law?

Maine Governor Janet Mills, who is presently locked successful a bitter Democratic superior for a U.S. Senate seat, volition person to determine successful the coming days whether to motion oregon veto the nation’s first-ever prohibition connected AI information centers.

Earlier this week, Maine’s authorities legislature became the archetypal successful the state to walk a impermanent moratorium connected information centers supra a definite size. The prohibition would past for implicit a year, and the authorities would besides make a assembly for vetting projected projects astatine the municipality level.

AI information centers, which tin often beryllium massive, person attracted plentifulness of contention arsenic they’ve popped up successful section communities crossed the state with expanding speed. Complaints person focused connected the large sound generated by the buildings, arsenic good arsenic their sometimes important impact connected section vigor prices.

And yet, nary authorities has yet managed to prohibition the operation of information centers, adjacent for a constricted play of time. Maine is not a peculiar hotspot for AI powerfulness sources, astatine slightest not yet—but backlash against the arguable vigor hubs was capable successful the independent-minded, nature-loving authorities to spot a prohibition sail done some chambers of the authorities legislature with small resistance.

Now, Governor Mills volition person to take whether to motion the moratorium into law, oregon perchance veto it. Last week, Mills told reporters she wanted an exemption successful the authorities for a projected $550 cardinal information halfway successful Jay, a tiny municipality successful the halfway of the state.

"The radical of Jay request those jobs, with due guardrails connected preserving h2o resources, energy resources, section generation, and each those things," the politician said.

Such an exemption was not included successful the moratorium the authorities legislature yet passed.

Potentially complicating the determination is the information that Mills is presently locked successful a bitter superior for a U.S. Senate spot against an upstart Democratic rival, Maine oyster husbandman Graham Platner. Despite Mills’ illustration arsenic the state’s highest ranking official, Platner, who is moving to the governor’s left, present leads her successful polling by a important margin.

Weighing successful connected specified a hot-button contented arsenic AI—as her Senate contention crescendos—may not beryllium precocious connected Mills’ to-do list. But the politician volition soon person to marque a telephone 1 mode oregon the other. Likely paying adjacent attraction volition beryllium the operators of the increasing fig of AI-focused ace PACs, which person begun dumping millions of dollars connected nationalist races this year.

Representatives for Mills did not instantly respond to Decrypt’s petition for comment.