Fwd: AI warps local climate politics

[Loretta Lohman]

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From California to North Carolina, US officials weighing new energy projects or green policies have been inundated with comments via platforms that tout AI capabilities. Today’s newsletter looks at how the phenomenon might be warping policymakers’ perception of public opinion. AI-powered activism By Todd Woody and Zahra Hirji Two weeks before the board of a Southern California environmental agency was to vote on a pair of landmark climate initiatives last May, staff raised an alarm. “An aggressive campaign” from an “AI powered platform,” they told executives, was flooding their servers with thousands of emails from the public opposing the proposals to phase out gas water heaters and furnaces in nearly half the state’s homes. Officials at the South Coast Air Quality Management District scrambled to figure out who was behind the deluge — and if the emails were genuine, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News in a public records request. Illustration by Lucas Burtin One message sent to an air district administrator came from a friend who said he didn’t write it. Another purported to be from the agency’s own executive officer, Wayne Nastri. (He later got an email from a group fighting the proposals, thanking him “for voicing your opposition to these costly rules” — rules that his staff had drafted.) Nastri’s deputy Lisa Tanaka O’Malley floated a theory: “I’m wondering if they used AI to scan for emails and sent a massive blast out.” An attempt by the agency to verify the emails proved inconclusive: Officials contacted 172 commenters but only five replied, with two confirming they’d sent the letters and three denying they had done so. Ultimately, the air district’s board voted seven to five against the proposals put forward by its staff. From California to New York to North Carolina, recent plans for new energy projects or green regulations have spurred unusually high volumes of public comments, confounding local and state officials. Originating from paid campaigns and generated with the help of automation tools and artificial intelligence, the comments have almost universally expressed support for fossil fuels or opposition to restricting their use, as well as backing other policies favored by corporate interests. It’s not entirely clear in what ways these campaigns used AI or how much they swayed policymakers. But their mere existence has led to fears about AI being harnessed to misrepresent public opinion on issues that are already contentious and politically polarized, and has prompted discussion of how to guard against bad actors. “Public comments are integral to the functioning of democracy,” said Samuel Woolley, a disinformation expert at the University of Pittsburgh. “They have been since ancient Athens.” When ordinary citizens can weigh in on development plans and policies, government officials are pushed to be more transparent and engage with a range of opinions. Yet the very openness of the process leaves it vulnerable to being co-opted. Especially in the age of AI. South Coast air district spokesperson Connie Villanueva said the agency is studying ways to screen out potentially AI-generated comments, including creating a portal requiring additional human verification. “Maintaining the integrity and transparency of the public comment process is a top priority for the agency,” she said in an email. Read more Your weekend read By Zahra Hirji A lawsuit over unpermitted gas turbines used to power a data center for Elon Musk’s company xAI Corp. and its AI assistant Grok has become an unexpected test for the US government’s authority over air pollution. The US Department of Justice sought to join the case last week, citing national security reasons for allowing the turbines in Mississippi to power a hulking data center complex in nearby Memphis. The NAACP had sued over alleged pollution violations. The xAI data center, Colossus II, in Memphis, Tennessee Photographer: Brad Zweerink/Earthjustice The federal government moving to intervene in the case could mark an expansion of executive authority. If the US government decides to allow a company to pollute by forgoing enforcement, lawyers for the DOJ are arguing that local communities can’t sue over the resulting pollution. “Although the stakes are high for this community in Mississippi, this is much bigger than one data center or one company,” said David Uhlmann, a former top EPA enforcement official under President Joe Biden who now works with the nonprofit Environmental Protection Network. “If DOJ’s unprecedented attack on the Clean Air Act succeeds, any administration could try to shut down citizen enforcement whenever a case conflicts with its political priorities, favored industries or preferred projects.” The DOJ “is committed to enforcing environmental laws,” said agency spokesperson Matthew Nies. “Prudent enforcement requires balancing public interests, including national security. The federal government exercises this enforcement discretion every day without favoritism for any individual or company,” he added. He reiterated DOJ’s position that it has authority to intervene on this case. An xAI spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. Last week, xAI’s general counsel James Burnham said in a social media post that he was grateful for the DOJ’s support. Burnham has previously served as legal chief of the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as held senior roles in the White House and Justice Department during Trump’s first administration. The outcome of the case not only has implications for other data centers, which have already been resorting to unconventional power sources to avoid long lines to be connected to the grid, but other types of polluters potentially looking to skimp on pollution controls. Read more Your weekend listen Zero Solar, Batteries Are Thriving in Trump's America The common narrative is that the US renewables industry is struggling. But that’s not the case for the whole sector. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Kevin Smith, chief executive officer of Cypress Creek Energy, which recently secured $3.5 billion in financing to build one of the biggest solar and battery projects in the US. Even as the current American administration dismantles clean-energy policies, Smith sees a bright future for solar and batteries. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday. In case you missed it Londoners Complain of ‘Unbearable Heat’ in City’s Modern Housing In Britain’s capital city, an architectural trend that started about two decades ago is now being linked to dangerous indoor heat. What Climate Change Costs You at the Checkout The higher temperatures climb, the more inflated household costs like groceries will become. In ‘Modern-Day Noah’s Ark,’ Startup Colossal Will Bank Samples of At-Risk US Species The company is working with the federal government on a vault that will store frozen material from plants and animals. China Issues New Energy Plan at Transition Inflection Point It maps a way forward for a sector that’s starting to run up against the constraints of its rapid pivot toward clean electricity. More from Bloomberg Business of Food for a weekly look at how the world feeds itself in a changing economy and climate, from farming to supply chains to consumer trends Energy Daily for a daily guide to the energy and commodities markets that power the global economy Tech In Depth for analysis and scoops about the business of technology Explore all Bloomberg newsletters. We’re improving your newsletter experience and we’d love your feedback. If something looks off, help us fine-tune your experience by reporting it here. 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