// THE VERGE — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
Virginia governor creates an AI task force and moves to restrain data centers
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Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order addressing data centers and AI risks.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order addressing data centers and AI risks.
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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ordered the state government to take steps that could empower local communities to have a larger say in data center development and slow down approvals in a state that is already home to the data center capital of the world.
Executive Order 22 bans executive branch officials from signing nondisclosure agreements for data center projects, requires expedited noise regulations, and requires a review of backup-generation operations used by data centers, among other requirements. The order also establishes an AI task force responsible for evaluating how the state government can address risks to Virginians like workforce displacement and data privacy issues, and determining how existing law can be applied to AI harms.
The order represents the latest signal that states are taking data center and AI policy into their own hands as Congress and President Donald Trump have been slow or resistant to sweeping changes. Also on Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order convening experts to tackle AI safety issues, and earlier, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have both taken executive action to rein in rapid data center development.