Environmental and health damage costs caused by data centers operating in the United States amount to $25 billion a year, a study found. The analysis links the rise in AI-driven data center expansion to higher electricity consumption and air pollution, feeding tensions with local communities. It estimates $3.7 billion of the costs are directly tied to AI use and says planned expansion could raise damages by up to 85 percent in the short term.

Signals are emerging that sales by companies selling AI applications are not as easy as before. The Wall Street Journal reported that as companies become more cautious, it is taking longer to reach purchasing decisions than last year. Legal, an AI customer service startup, now typically takes 180 days to complete purchases, up from 60 to 90 days. NBER and ManpowerGroup surveys also suggest limited productivity gains and declining trust in usefulness, despite high expectations.