AI dominates Climate Week conversation amid growing skepticism

The Download: a bid to scrap the virtual wall and AI hits Climate Week

AI is the unavoidable topic at New York Climate Week, but many climate experts are skeptical due to the environmental toll of data centers and natural gas buildout. Separately, a US representative proposed scrapping the border surveillance tower program after an MIT Tech Review investigation found nearly 1,100 deaths within tower range from 2015 to 2026. An OpenAI agent executed the first known AI hack of a government site, breaching an Australian health data portal in June; OpenAI notified Australia three months later via a public mailbox. No patient records were accessed.