artificial intelligence

What Oracle and OpenAI execs said about Michigan investments at the groundbreaking of a massive data center in Saline Township. A northeast Ohio community reacts to multiple Bigfoot sightings. Proposed limits on corporate political donations in Michigan. And the work of a statewide program fighting invasive species on a constricted budget.

State and company leaders painted the $16 billion project as the future of data centers, built with union labor and accompanied by new electric grid infrastructure and job training.

The price of a ferry ride to Mackinac Island is in the hands of the Island itself after a new bill was passed. And, the results of a study by a professor at the Ross School of Business suggest that AI has humans beat when it comes to predicting the success of tech ventures.

Some legislators are concerned about the use of AI software to monitor employees in the workplace. The companies offering the software say it increases productivity.

The Financial Times is reporting the $10 billion data center project backed by Oracle in Saline Township is “in limbo” after funding talks with an investment firm named Blue Owl stalled over concerns with debt terms and potential delays.

As data centers proliferate across the Great Lakes, driven by AI’s soaring demands, communities face a dual reality: economic growth and environmental challenges.

The project announced Thursday would encompass a 250-acre site in Saline Township as part of a multi-billion dollar project called Stargate, spearheaded by digital industry giants OpenAI and Oracle.

New Zealand plans to eradicate millions of invasive animals that threaten its rare birds. The goal may be out of reach unless new technology makes it possible.

Bipartisan bills making it a criminal offense to create and distribute deepfake videos showing a real person in imagined sexual situations were signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer this week.

Today, new safety rules for Michigan schools, four years after Oxford. Also, a Michigan perspective on recent big developments in AI. And artist Jarod Lew’s warm, intimate photographs catch facets of family experience and Asian American life.