IT & Technology News
Reporting on information technology, cybersecurity, and tech policy. The Daily Signal includes analysis, commentary, and opinion on technology’s impact.
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opinion
The Unspoken Young Men Crisis: AI Girlfriends
Large-language models and artificial intelligence chatbots are changing how we approach work, leisure, relationships, and our very understanding of humanity. And now, AI companionship bots threaten to neuter an entire generation of young men. America’s young men are adrift on a rudderless ship. Today, many of them are denied moral formation, lack authentic masculine role… -
news
Chesapeake Delays Data Center Applications
THE CENTER SQUARE—Chesapeake is delaying some new data center proposals while it rewrites the rules for where the facilities can be built and how they’re reviewed. The City Council voted 9-0 on July 21 to approve Resolution 26-R-042, temporarily delaying consideration of data center applications requiring rezonings or conditional use permits for up to eight… -
Abbott Orders Audit of Texas Data Centers, Pausing Future Grid Connections
Earlier this week, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state regulators to conduct a comprehensive audit of data centers seeking to connect to the Texas grid, effectively pausing future data center projects until the review is complete. Abbott’s order directs the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to conduct… -
news
Is NewsGuard Censoring Children’s Education? New AI Tool Raises Concerns
NewsGuard claims its fact-checking is “apolitical,” but PragerU accuses the organization of forcing a leftist narrative onto children. NewsGuard is an organization that claims to find reliable information for enterprises and consumers and now features an artificial intelligence tool that just became free to students. According to its website, the chatbot delivers “reliable responses to prompts” using… -
exclusive
SCOOP: Trump Admin Considering Expanding AI Framework to Open Models
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Trump administration officials told members of the AI industry on Tuesday that expanding the artificial intelligence vetting framework to include open-weight models is under consideration, though they are currently exempted. Administration officials held a meeting Tuesday with AI industry executives from companies including Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI, to preview its framework… -
opinion
Texans Can Have Data Centers and Affordable Energy Too
There is no need to choose between winning the AI race and having affordable electricity. Data centers consume a lot of electricity and will therefore raise electricity demand across the country, but demand alone does not determine whether household rates rise. Texas’ data centers can strengthen the state’s economy without forcing households to pay higher… -
news
Dominion Pockets Profits During Proposed Sale
Dominion Energy announced last week that its second-quarter revenue rose to $4.48 billion, up substantially from the $3.81 billion in revenue it earned in the same period last year. Those earnings far surpassed analysts’ estimates. Overall, Dominion posted adjusted earnings of 79 cents per share, again easily topping expectations. The profits are driven, in part,… -
opinion
Millionaires and Billionaires Are Blooming Like Red Roses
America’s Big Tech companies are turning Karl Marx’s 19th-century nightmare into a 21st-century dream come true for regular workers. Far-left Democrats—and far-far-left democratic socialists—love to rail against the evils of the super wealthy. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., relentlessly grumbles his cranky incantation about “millionaires and billionaires.” “You can’t earn a billion dollars,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., insists…. -
opinion
Hollywood Is Protecting Its Children. Why Aren’t We?
Hollywood is limiting screens. As ironic as it may seem, the Los Angeles Unified School District, which encompasses Hollywood, will limit student screen time in schools this academic year. More schools need to follow suit and implement policies aimed at reducing children’s screen time—even for educational purposes. In its announcement earlier this year, the LAUSD’s… -
opinion
Get the Flock Out
The Harrisonburg City Council voted unanimously this week to end the city’s contract with Flock Safety. It will bag the company’s surveillance cameras with trash bags until they are removed and will consider an ordinance that prohibits other similar mass-surveillance entities from entering into contracts with any entities in the city. Earlier this year, the… -
analysis
The Data Center Question: What Will the Impacts Be for Georgians?
Recently, Georgians across the state have expressed concerns over the potential for new data centers to be built in their communities. Examples include a $20 billion project being discussed in Effingham County. Massive development projects raise many bipartisan issues, including the possibility of tax hikes and higher water and electricity costs. “It’s easy to say… -
opinion
Senate Big Tech Warriors, It’s Time to Confirm Adam Candeub
President Donald Trump is putting America First fighters in charge of the agencies that actually run this country, and his pick last week to lead the Department of Justice Antitrust Division is no exception. Meet Adam Candeub: the guy who helped write the Project 2025 playbook for reining in Big Tech and who has spent his career going after… -
news
DeWine Takes Action on Data Centers
Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, on Thursday joined nearly half of the governors in the country in signing onto President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The pledge would require AI companies and data center operators pay the utility and infrastructure costs of data centers, not consumers. “America’s continued economic and technological leadership depends on reliable, large-scale… -
news
Major Data Center Proposal Withdrawn Following Talks With Texas Officials
A proposed data center in Henderson County, Texas, has withdrawn its plans to acquire land for its development. On Thursday, Diode, a global semiconductor company, notified Henderson County officials that it will no longer pursue the land development near Cedar Creek Lake. “Instead, we will focus on opportunities where we can support Texas’ growing infrastructure… -
news
Will Trump’s Plan to Make Data Centers Bring Their Own Energy Quell Anti-AI Sentiment?
President Donald Trump said 23 governors have signed his pledge to protect everyday Americans from the energy costs associated with new artificial intelligence data centers. Governors, companies, and stakeholders who sign the pledge agree to “protect American consumers from price hikes due to data center energy and infrastructure requirements, and lower electricity costs for consumers… -
exclusive
Does Apple Support Chemical ‘Transition’ for Minors? Shareholders Want to Know
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Apple shareholders sent a letter to CEO Tim Cook, raising concerns about the tech company’s commitments to transgender ideology and the potential market downsides of such a stance. “Gender ideology has become an incredibly divisive issue in the United States and around the world, and companies put billions of dollars of… -
news
UT Dallas Policy Prohibits Flock Cameras From Being Used for Immigration Enforcement
The University of Texas at Dallas Police Department currently uses Flock safety technology to capture evidence of crimes committed on campus. However, the department says it does not use the system for immigration enforcement. According to the university’s Flock transparency portal, the technology is used to provide “objective evidence without compromising on individual privacy.” The… -
exclusive
Microsoft Stops Discriminating Against Conservatives
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Microsoft has stopped systematically excluding conservative nonprofits from its corporate generosity program, the Daily Signal has learned. The tech giant—the fourth-largest company in the world by market capitalization—has directed its corporate generosity platform, Benevity, to stop relying on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate map” to filter out nonprofits. Critics say… -
exclusive
‘NO MORE CENSORING’: How NIH Director Wants to Restore Trust in Public Health
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said he was blacklisted on X during the COVID-19 pandemic because he questioned certain mandates like masks for toddlers. Now, as director of the National Institutes of Health, he is making sure no other scientist is censored due to their political views. Bhattacharya, then a professor of health policy at Stanford University… -
exclusive
SCOOP: Head of Federal AI Safety Org Resigns
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Dr. Chris Fall, the director of the Commerce Department’s safety-centered artificial intelligence organization, has resigned, two sources familiar with the matter told the Daily Signal. Fall, who served in the first Trump administration at the Department of Energy as the director of the Office of Science, was tapped to lead the…