Voters showed profound distrust of the AI race yesterday, approving dozens of data center moratoriums and electing a raft of candidates who favor slowing a $10 trillion buildout, including in Texas, the epicenter of the boom.

Why it matters: In an election that hinged on an affordability crisis for many Americans, voters made it clear they view Silicon Valley's AI ambitions not as a technological miracle, but as a resource-draining threat to their wallets and communities.

• The results were a warning shot to some of the nation's wealthiest and most powerful executives, many of whom are already working on ways to build a more palatable version of the revolution they are dead set on winning.

"What we just witnessed was an AI earthquake," Brad Carson, co-founder of Americans for Responsible Innovation, told Axios. "Voters just sent a clear message that they want rules for AI and data centers."

Driving the news: Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa's surprise victory in the Texas governor's race fundamentally scrambles the math for the AI buildout.

• Hinojosa campaigned on keeping a moratorium on data center construction in place until the state passes legislation tackling impacts on water, electricity, air and property rights in the legislative session that ends in mid-2027.
• While most U.S. data centers expected in 2027 are already under construction, a hold for more than six months would bring extended delays in Texas, which accounts for 41% of new U.S. capacity in 2028, according to the research firm SemiAnalysis.

Between the lines: All told, nearly two-thirds of 2028 data center capacity could face delays, although most political analysts don't see Democrats permanently blocking construction.

What they're saying: A host of candidates and politicos called out AI as one of the biggest issues in the blue wave, an important signpost ahead of a momentous 2028 presidential race.

• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), a 2028 contender who won reelection by a wide margin, called out "the titans of Silicon Valley" in a victory speech, saying they "dig bunkers for themselves" even as they warn "that the artificial intelligence they're creating risks human extinction."
• AI had its "official debut" as the biggest issue in American politics, New York Assemblymember and RAISE Act author Alex Bores told Axios. "AI is reaching into every part of our society and economy, and it's now crystal clear it's impacting every part of our politics, too."

By the numbers: The anti-tech sentiment extended far beyond those states.

• Out of 41 data center measures on the ballot across 10 states, about two dozen proposals designed to restrict or block development appeared to have passed based on initial returns, according to Ballotpedia.
• Ohio hosted the largest share of those ballot fights, and some votes are still forthcoming, including in Arkansas and North Dakota.

The intrigue: Leaning into AI skepticism proved to be a winning strategy for Democrats in swing districts.

• Democratic challengers successfully weaponized AI policy, ousting Republicans in Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
• Democratic groups had poured ads into these districts attacking GOP incumbents for a 2025 vote that would've neutered state AI legislation.

The bottom line: For years, tech execs have dictated the terms of a seemingly limitless expansion, but this election proves that the ballot box still reigns supreme.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is moving ahead with plans to build a nationwide cellular network, selecting Qualcomm to provide key technology for tens of thousands of cell sites that it plans to begin deploying next year.

Why it matters: SpaceX's move threatens to upend the established wireless industry, though its ultimate ambition may be bigger than simply stealing smartphone subscribers from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

• Musk has the financial resources, satellite network and growing portfolio of wireless spectrum to mount a serious challenge to the status quo.
• Still, building a network to rival the established carriers — and persuading their customers to switch — remains a daunting and potentially expensive undertaking.

Driving the news: Qualcomm said today that SpaceX has selected its Dragonwing chips and software to help power Starlink Mobile's planned nationwide terrestrial 5G network.

• The companies have a multiyear agreement covering tens of thousands of traditional cellular sites, with deployment expected to begin in 2027, per Qualcomm.
• Qualcomm says it will provide the chips and foundational software for radio and baseband processing, while SpaceX will develop additional software and other elements of the network.

Between the lines: SpaceX's ambitions likely go beyond competing for smartphone subscribers, with the company potentially targeting emerging markets for AI-powered devices and robots.

• For example, a satellite network could provide more continuous outdoor connectivity for package-delivery drones, security robots, construction robots and autonomous delivery vehicles.

By the numbers: Joe Madden, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, estimates SpaceX will spend at least $100 billion building out its combined satellite and terrestrial wireless network, including the cost of acquiring spectrum.

Keep reading.

North Korea appears to have used a fake job interview as part of its monthslong preparations to steal $6.3 billion from Binance, the crypto exchange said yesterday.

Why it matters: The country's hackers are weaponizing both sides of the job market, posing as recruiters and job applicants to infiltrate companies and steal billions.

Driving the news: Binance said one of its software engineers was contacted in September through a "legitimate job-hunting platform" by someone posing as a project director at a fictitious company.

• During the first-round interview, a fake HR representative conducted a live video call with the engineer and showed off a seemingly legitimate social media profile featuring personal photos and videos.
• The hackers waited until the second round — after building trust with the employee — to ask them to download an infected code repository as part of an interview assignment.

Go deeper: How North Korea perfected the crypto heist

OpenAI will acquire Pierre Computer, a developer tools startup whose technology is already embedded in Codex, the company told Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: OpenAI is joining a slew of companies challenging Microsoft's GitHub as AI agents take on more coding work. The platform has acted as a central repository and nerve center for software development for many years.

Zoom out: GitHub has faced a number of reliability issues and outages as AI coding has taken off.

• Its most pressing problem, critics say, is that it was built for humans, but so much software is now written by AI that a new, AI-first GitHub replacement would be better.

Friction point: OpenAI and a number of other competitors may be looking to capitalize on the shift.

• Cursor, now owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, launched GitHub rival Origin in August.
• Former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke, who launched a new coding startup, announced a competing product last month.

The bottom line: OpenAI is moving beyond helping developers write code toward controlling more of the infrastructure where that code is stored, reviewed and shipped.

• Google will cut off search access for schools that restrict the use of AI tools. (New York Times)
• NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke with Wired about AI, data centers and the surveillance state.

Mady here, back on the "You Can See Everything" beat because Billy Evans, partner of Elizabeth Holmes, did an AMA on X about his involvement.

• Among other things, he addressed mixed reports about his sniffling in the second half of the film.
• Message us which AI/tech movie you're most looking forward to seeing!