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Senators Question Meta’s Data Center Tax Strategy

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, questioning the company’s $6.6 billion in tax breaks.

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times

Meta has claimed to the Internal Revenue Service that the data centers it is building across the country to power its new generative A.I. efforts are “experimental.”
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Creating a Kill Switch to Shut Down a Rogue A.I. Is Harder Than It Sounds

A bipartisan group in Congress and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California have floated ideas for building a mechanism that would instantly power down an A.I. system. Only no one really knows how.

© Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News, via Getty Images

Creating a kill switch, a metaphorical big red button that could be pressed in an emergency, is harder than many policymakers assume. “There often isn’t one plug you can pull,” said one A.I. researcher.
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Will A.I. Kill Us? Can It Hack My Bank Account? Your A.I. Questions Answered

Nearly 1,000 readers sent us their questions about artificial intelligence, its potential and its potential risks.

© Charles Taylor/Alamy

Some people worry that connecting A.I. agents to the internet or vital infrastructure will wreak havoc in unexpected ways, while others worry that researchers will soon develop A.I. systems that have agency.
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California’s Governor Signs Landmark Online Child Safety Bills

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that prohibits social media platforms from providing addictive features to users under 16, the first law of its kind in the nation.

© Eric Ryan Anderson for The New York Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s actions follow a series of social media trials this year, in which thousands of teenagers, schools and states have accused Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube of hooking young users with products being compared to cigarettes.
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New York Climate ‘Superfund’ Law Falls in Court

The court said the measure, which required energy companies to pay $75 billion to the state, conflicted with federal law.

© Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor, signed the law in 2024 and several other states have considered similar measures.
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California Lawmakers Pass Plug-In Solar Bill

Legislatures in nearly a dozen states have voted to legalize use of the technology, which can help homeowners reduce their rising electricity costs.

© Poppy Lynch for The New York Times

A plug-in solar panel on the balcony of a home in Sunnyvale, Calif.
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