🏢 Amazon’s Data Center Water Usage Under Scrutiny
Amazon is facing criticism over transparency regarding its data centers’ water consumption. A leaked internal memo reveals that executives strategized about keeping the public “in the dark” about their true water usage.
Key findings:
Amazon consumed 105 billion gallons of water in 2021 – equivalent to nearly 1 million US households
The company has never publicly disclosed total water consumption from its server farms, unlike competitors Microsoft and Google
Internal documents show Amazon chose to report only “primary” water use (7.7B gallons) while excluding “secondary” water use from electricity generation to minimize reputational risk
The “Water Positive” campaign launched in 2022 only accounts for a fraction of actual water usage
🤖 Microsoft Introduces “Mico” – A New AI Personality
Microsoft unveiled Mico (pronounced MEEkoh), a blob-shaped animated character that will embody the Copilot AI assistant. This marks Microsoft’s latest attempt to give AI a friendly personality without repeating the mistakes of the infamous Clippy from 1997.
Key features:
Changes colors and facial expressions based on conversation context
Wears glasses when in “study mode”
Can be easily disabled by users
Available initially in the U.S. for Copilot users on laptops and phone apps
Designed to be “genuinely useful” without being overly engaging or manipulative
Microsoft is positioning this as a middle ground between faceless AI symbols and overly human-like avatars, aiming to be helpful without creating unhealthy dependencies.
🤝 Major AI Partnerships and Developments
This week has seen significant AI industry moves:
Meta & Blue Owl Capital: Announced a $27 billion joint venture to develop the Hyperion data center in Louisiana for next-gen AI infrastructure
IBM & Groq: Partnered to power enterprise AI with faster inference through watsonx Orchestrate and GroqCloud
NVIDIA & Google Cloud: Launched G4 VMs with RTX PRO 6000 GPUs and Omniverse tools for AI, robotics, and digital twin technology
Anthropic: Launched “Claude for Life Sciences” – an advanced AI research assistant for scientists
Anthropic: Also announced Claude Desktop is now generally available for both Mac and Windows
📺 Apple Secures Exclusive F1 Broadcasting Rights
Apple will stream all Formula 1 races exclusively on Apple TV in the U.S. under a new five-year deal, significantly expanding its sports offerings and deepening its F1 partnership.
🔧 Other Notable Updates
OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Atlas – a new AI-powered browser integrating ChatGPT directly into web experiences
Veeam set to acquire Securiti AI for $1.725 billion to combine data resilience with privacy, governance, and AI trust
Snapchat rolled out AI-powered Imagine Lens globally and unveiled new AR tools at Lens Fest 2025
Google AI Studio introduced workflow improvements for developers across Gemini, GenMedia, and Live models
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