New Delhi, July 15 -- ALBANY - The AI industry has spent the past two years asking governments to trust it to regulate itself. New York answered on Monday by banning new data center approvals entirely. Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order making the state the first in the country to freeze permitting for large facilities, imposing a one-year halt on any data center consuming 50 megawatts or more as the power grid strains under demand no utility forecast anticipated.

The Department of Environmental Conservation will not approve permits for qualifying facilities until a state-ordered review of electricity demand and community impact is complete - a process expected to last roughly twelve months. More than a dozen projects alread...