After the midterms: tech stocks fall, a call for a pause, and no more secret NDAs
Follow-up to Thursday Nov 5: After the midterms: data centers lose, AI rules look more likelyYesterday we saw that data centers lost the midterms and that strong AI rules look more likely. Now come the first consequences. The Wall Street Journal reports the Nasdaq sank 5% on Thursday as investors stepped back from the AI trade after the election. A Reddit post links a report that Micron, a memory chip maker, hit a three-month low after a top Democratic lawmaker called for AI regulation and a pause in development.
Companies are reacting. Meta warned that political opposition to data centers could threaten future AI investments. OpenAI announced new commitments to communities near its data center projects. It will no longer use non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, contracts that keep talks secret, with public officials. Many projects had been criticized for using NDAs to hide discussions.
Congress returns on November 9. Then we will see if the call for a pause becomes a real bill, or stays a headline.
Voters, not only engineers and investors, are now shaping how fast AI moves. Ending secret deals with officials is a real step for transparency. The next question is who writes the new rules, and whether independent people check them.
