Axios

A handful of specific AI use cases highlight an opportunity for the technology to overcome some of America's widespread skepticism and win broader trust, according to a new Morning Consult poll shared exclusively with Axios.

The big picture: Practical applications that keep people alive, safe and protected from scams could prompt skeptics to reconsider their attitudes.

Today's data centers can consume double the power of their predecessors, and more powerful ones are in the works.

Why it matters: Data centers have emerged as a key issue as midterm elections draw near.

Market watchers think the market should be able to continue to gain altitude despite a headwind from Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Why it matters: Rate-hiking cycles have sometimes undermined the market, leaving investors with ugly losses.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers agree that consumers shouldn't fund the massive power needs of AI data centers. They're less aligned on whether Congress will actually stop that from happening.

Why it matters: The AI boom is colliding with an aging grid and long waits for new power projects — forcing policymakers to figure out how to add power fast without sticking households and businesses with the bill. Data centers are also emerging as one of this midterm cycle's most volatile political issues.

Over the past decade, lithium-ion batteries have transformed how we live, work and travel, ushering in the era of the Rechargeable Society.

Okay, but: As battery technology expands into the connected home, self-driving systems and grid infrastructure, everyone across the supply chain must build in safety. This will allow innovation to thrive and ultimately earn public trust and allow for society to anticipate failures before they turn into major headlines.

Markets are slowly coming to the view that the disruptions to the energy markets — the Iran war foremost among them — will keep energy prices elevated well into next year.

Why it matters: Unlike surging spot prices for crude oil — cash paid to get actual deliveries of products ASAP — prices in the energy futures markets have been slower to price in a long-lasting impact of the conflict.

• That could be changing.

Climate change is still melting ice and threatening polar bears, but the conversation at New York's upcoming Climate Week is centered on something much closer to home: the cost of energy.

Why it matters: With the Iran war pushing up energy costs, the AI boom driving power demand and the midterms looming, affordability is becoming a central test for climate action.

The amount of diesel that Americans buy in a single day costs roughly $321 million more than it did a year ago — driving a new round of chatter about an export ban to preserve domestic supplies.

Why it matters: Investors and economists warn that it could backfire spectacularly, driving up prices globally and potentially putting further upward pressure on domestic interest rates.

New York City is installing hundreds of curbside electric vehicle chargers in an effort to address one of the thorniest problems for urban EV drivers — where to charge overnight.

Why it matters: Cities could be among the biggest beneficiaries of quiet, emission-free vehicles, yet EV adoption is especially difficult in densely populated areas, where millions of people park on the street and can't plug in overnight.

If rising interest rates are stock market kryptonite, investors are confronting a big chunk of that otherworldly mineral right now.

The big picture: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, seen as the most important interest rate in the world, has hit its highest level — 5.04% — since 2007.

• This means that the price of money has gone up for everyone from the middle-class homebuyer to the behemoth corporation.