Amazon’s artificial intelligence ambitions will soon be partly fueled by a natural gas-burning power plant in Texas that “could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States,” The New York Times reported.

These gas-burning plants are increasingly lumped into data center projects. They produce harmful pollutants, which can accelerate climate change impacts and harm public health—contributing to conditions like asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. Some communities are demanding more stringent environmental reviews, but the Trump administration favors fast-tracking that can include skipping the permitting process entirely.

Since Elon Musk’s xAI controversially began relying on gas turbines last spring to power its biggest AI data center, Colossus, there has been public backlash to off-the-grid data centers like the one Amazon is building.

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Apple has been testing memory chips from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for use across product lines that include iPhones and MacBooks, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter. The move comes as the company grapples with a severe memory-chip shortage intensified by surging demand from the artificial-intelligence boom.

The iPhone maker has held early talks with CXMT about potential supply of components, with the aim of incorporating them into some devices sold in China. Apple is seeking approval from the Trump administration to proceed with any business involving the Chinese chipmaker. Any such deal would be politically sensitive. Some U.S. policymakers worry that collaboration could give CXMT access to American intellectual property.

CXMT ranks as China’s largest chipmaker by market value. The testing reflects broader industry pressure: AI data-center demand has redirected substantial DRAM production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators, tightening supplies and driving up prices for the conventional memory chips needed in smartphones, PCs, and other consumer electronics.

Other device makers have already begun limited use of CXMT chips. Laptop producers HP and Acer have started incorporating the Chinese company’s memory into some devices sold outside the United States to ease shortages, the Journal reported.

Apple and CXMT did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report. The development builds on earlier indications that Apple has been exploring options with Chinese memory suppliers and lobbying U.S. officials for flexibility amid the supply constraints. CXMT has faced scrutiny in Washington, including designation on a Pentagon list of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military, adding layers of regulatory and political complexity to any potential partnership.

MacDailyNews Take: The situation underscores the tension between immediate commercial needs (securing enough memory to maintain production volumes and manage costs) and longer-term national-security and technology-transfer concerns. It’s a tightrope walk for sure.

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