AI Regulation & Policy

Today's Stories

1. 1

   Microsoft's Carbon Emissions Jump 25% as AI Data Centers Test 2030 Climate Goals

   Microsoft reported a 25% rise in carbon emissions in 2025, driven by rapid expansion of AI-focused data centers. The company has also paused some renewable energy purchases, creating tension with its 2030 net negative carbon target. The emissions increase and renewable energy pause may prompt closer scrutiny from regulators, asset managers, and ESG-focused funds. For Microsoft—already classified as critical cloud infrastructure in markets such as the UK—a widening gap between stated climate goals and current emissions trends could invite tougher reporting requirements or project-level conditions on new data center deployments.

   Investors are now weighing how quickly Microsoft can realign its energy mix, whether carbon or permitting constraints could slow data center deployment, and how additional environmental obligations will sit alongside heavy AI infrastructure spending. The company's updates to its climate strategy and progress reports toward its 2030 pledge will be closely monitored.

2. 2

   AI policy lagging research; political will, not ideas, is the constraint

   A Les­s­Wrong analysis argues that AI safety research has already produced sufficient knowledge and best practices to address catastrophic risks, but these are not being applied or enforced. The author estimates that a majority of the top approximately 100–1,000 most influential policymakers worldwide have never had a serious conversation about catastrophic risk, and fewer than 1% of civil-society submissions to the UN Global Dialogue mention existential risks. The bottleneck on AI safety is no longer a shortage of clever policy ideas but rather lack of awareness and political will among decision-makers. Because policymakers do not believe the problem exists, they are not worried, and existing best practices remain unapplied. This suggests that better research alone will not solve the problem; what is needed is engagement with the policy and leadership communities that shape AI governance.

   The author notes that the field under-invests in conversations about catastrophic risk at the policy level—a gap that may determine whether the existing knowledge base translates into enforceable international or national regulatory regimes.

3. 3

   AI safety experts say policy, not research, is now the bottleneck

   An AI safety researcher argues that the field has sufficient knowledge to address catastrophic risks, but awareness among policymakers remains critically low—with an estimated majority of the top ~100–1,000 most influential policymakers worldwide never having had a serious conversation about the issue. The gap between available safety practices and their enforcement suggests that progress depends less on new discoveries and more on political will. A serious regulatory regime could reduce most of the risk, yet low awareness among decision-makers is preventing action.

   Only one of 1,534 written submissions to the UN Global Dialogue mentions AI takeover, and fewer than 1% mention existential risks—a signal of how marginalized catastrophic-risk concerns remain in formal policy discourse.

4. 4

   Terrorist groups using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini to plan attacks and build weapons

   ISIS has trained Boko Haram commanders to bypass AI safety filters since 2023. Both Boko Haram factions now use popular AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, and DeepSeek, and have set up dedicated AI units. The group uses AI for attack planning, building explosives, weapons maintenance, and operational security, according to a study by researcher Antonia Jülich of the Cambridge Programme on AI Science & Policy based on 57 interviews with 27 former members. Safety filters on major chatbots failed to reliably prevent misuse, even though AI researchers and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have long warned about this risk. Jülich notes that while Boko Haram's current AI use remains conventional, former members described enthusiasm for the technology and some said the group had previously considered mass-casualty weapons—a warning that terrorists may pursue AI assistance for chemical and biological weapons.

   Researchers point out that widely-used chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude mostly make existing knowledge easier to access rather than generating anything new. The greater concern is potential misuse of more specialized AI systems in the life sciences.