On June 3, a number of Amazon engineers showed up at a Seattle City Council hearing, lending their support to new regulations aimed at overseeing the construction of sizable AI data centers. These engineers highlighted that Amazon is set to invest a staggering $200 billion this year in the expansion of AI data centers. This move comes in stark contrast to the fact that the company has already laid off more than 30,000 employees over the past eight months. In response to these concerns, the Seattle City Council made the decision to halt the approval of new large-scale AI data center projects for a duration of one year, in order to fine-tune the existing regulatory framework.
