{ "slug": "2026-11-08-the-week-2", "title": "The Week: Neighbors Push Back on AI Data Centers, NASA Picks a Nuclear Rover for Its Moon Base, and Drones Head to 300 More Walmarts", "type": "week", "label": "The Week No. 2", "number": 2, "date": "2026-11-08T09:00:00-05:00", "summary": "Our second weekly look back: voters, regulators and investors all pushed back on AI data centers, NASA named a nuclear-powered rover for its Moon base, Zipline raised $1.5 billion to bring drone delivery to 300 more Walmart sites, and a gene editing medicine made a hepatitis B signal vanish in 11 of 12 patients.", "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/", "markdown_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2.md", "json_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/api/v1/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2.json", "window_start": "2026-10-30T18:00:00-04:00", "window_end": "2026-11-07T23:59:00-05:00", "editor": "Dennis W. Davis", "byline": "Edited by Dennis W. Davis. AI-assisted; see How We Make This.", "hero_image": { "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/nasa-pleiades-rows-1837.jpg", "credit": "NASA", "alt": "Long rows of computer cabinets inside NASA's Pleiades supercomputer room at Ames Research Center" }, "in_60_seconds": [ "AI data centers had a hard week: voters turned them down in almost every local ballot measure, Florida's utility board rejected a power plan for them, and chip stocks had one of their worst days in years.", "Space kept building: NASA hired three companies for a new network of relay satellites, named a nuclear-powered rover for its Moon base, and AST SpaceMobile said it will build its own rocket.", "Drone delivery grew up: Zipline raised $1.5 billion and Walmart signed on for 300 more Zipline sites, while Wing plans a $125 million drone factory in Texas.", "Also: a gene editing medicine for hepatitis B, an AI that hunts for security holes for defenders, the first tokenized U.S. stock trade, and humanoid robots that worked a full factory shift." ], "sections": [ { "heading": "In 60 Seconds", "id": "in-60-seconds" }, { "heading": "Lead Signal", "id": "lead-signal" }, { "heading": "The Desks", "id": "the-desks" }, { "heading": "By the Numbers", "id": "by-the-numbers" }, { "heading": "Next Week's Watchlist", "id": "next-weeks-watchlist" } ], "lead": { "title": "Neighbors push back on AI data centers at the ballot box, the utility board and the stock market", "text": "Data centers are the giant buildings full of computers that run AI and the internet, and this week ordinary people had their say about them. On Tuesday, Election Day, voters in 10 states decided more than 40 local measures about data centers, and the side against them won nearly all of them, in early results. The only reported win for data center interests came in Harwood, North Dakota. In Emporia, Kansas, just over 60% of voters passed a ban on the biggest power and water users, and in Ohio, where nearly 20 places voted, opponents appear to have won every race (Wednesday's edition). Brookings' Mark Muro put it this way: \"The mutiny is about the way this technology is being introduced\" (Monday). The same day, Florida's Public Service Commission, which sets what utilities can charge, voted 5 to 0 to reject Duke Energy's plan for charging very large power users such as data centers, saying it could not make sure each one paid its own way. St. Johns County, Florida, and Mooresville, North Carolina, paused new data centers for a year (Tuesday). On Thursday, the PHLX Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 big chip companies, fell 12.25% and the Nasdaq fell 5.52%, as investors worried about new rules for AI and data centers (Thursday). Not investment advice.", "why_it_matters": "AI needs huge buildings that use lots of electricity and water, and they have to go somewhere. This week showed that neighbors, regulators and investors all want a say in where, and in who pays for the new power plants and lines. Expect companies to offer more in return, like paying their own power costs, using less water and choosing sites where they are welcome.", "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/nasa-pleiades-rows-1837.jpg", "image_credit": "NASA" }, "ticker": [], "desk_items": [ { "beat": "AI", "desk": "AI Models", "title": "OpenAI builds an AI bug hunter for defenders, and the strongest free model yet arrives", "text": "OpenAI released GPT-6 Cyber on Thursday, a version of its AI trained to find weaknesses in software and help fix them. OpenAI says researchers using it found 81 serious, previously unknown flaws in the Firefox web browser, and because the same skill could help attackers, only approved security teams can use it. On Wednesday, Beijing's Moonshot AI put Kimi K3.1 Pro on Hugging Face for anyone to download; at 46 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, it is the highest scoring downloadable model, while the top overall, Gemini 4 Carbon (High), is at 60. First in Evening Edition No. 9 and No. 8.", "why_it_matters": "much of daily life, from banks to hospitals, runs on software with hidden holes, and an AI that helps defenders patch them first makes that software safer for everyone. A strong free model lets schools, hospitals and small companies run AI on their own computers and keep their data private.", "source_url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/11/05/openai-releases-gpt-6-cyber-and-promises-this-one-stays-within-rules-of-engagement/5307855", "sources": [ "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/11/05/openai-releases-gpt-6-cyber-and-promises-this-one-stays-within-rules-of-engagement/5307855", "https://huggingface.co/moonshotai/Kimi-K3.1-Pro", "https://artificialanalysis.ai/models", "/editions/2026-11-05-evening-9/", "/editions/2026-11-04-evening-8/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-openai-builds-an-ai-bug-hunter-for-defenders-and-the-stron", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null }, { "beat": "LAUNCH", "desk": "Launch and Orbit", "title": "NASA picks a nuclear-powered rover for its Moon base, and AST SpaceMobile decides to build its own rocket", "text": "At its MAX POWER expo at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, NASA gave an update on its Moon base near the lunar south pole. It said it will send PROMISE, a six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover built from spare parts and test models of its Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, to the south pole on a Blue Origin lander, and named eight companies for the next round of its program that buys rides to the Moon, Starlust reports. Nuclear power lets a rover keep working through the two-week lunar night. Administrator Jared Isaacman said, \"We are building the Moon Base mission by mission.\" On Friday, AST SpaceMobile, which builds satellites that talk straight to ordinary phones, said it will build its own rocket, Blacklift, with engines from Firefly Aerospace in a deal worth more than $1.3 billion, Payload reports. First in Evening Edition No. 10.", "why_it_matters": "a Moon base needs rovers that can survive the cold and dark, and a rover that runs on nuclear power can explore places sunlight never reaches, where water ice may hide. Companies that build their own rockets no longer have to wait in line for a ride, which can bring new services, like phone signal anywhere, sooner.", "source_url": "https://starlust.org/nasa-shares-moon-base-updates-at-the-max-power-expo-including-a-nuclear-powered-rover-and-new-lander-deals/", "sources": [ "https://starlust.org/nasa-shares-moon-base-updates-at-the-max-power-expo-including-a-nuclear-powered-rover-and-new-lander-deals/", "https://payloadspace.com/ast-spacemobile-to-build-new-blacklift-rocket/", "/editions/2026-11-06-evening-10/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-nasa-picks-a-nuclear-powered-rover-for-its-moon-base-and-a", "video_id": null, "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/nasa-optimism-rover-1919.jpg", "image_credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech" }, { "beat": "ORBIT", "desk": "Satellites and Orbit", "title": "NASA hires three companies to carry its spacecraft's calls home", "text": "NASA picked Astranis, Global Enterprise Solutions and Viasat on Wednesday to develop commercial relay satellites, with contracts worth up to about $1.07 billion together. A relay satellite works like a cell tower in the sky: a spacecraft sends its data up to the relay, and the relay passes it down to Earth. NASA's own relay fleet is getting old, and it wants to buy the service from companies instead of owning the satellites, with a test in space by 2029. First in Evening Edition No. 8.", "why_it_matters": "much of what we learn from space, from weather pictures to astronaut video calls, reaches Earth through relay satellites. Buying the service from companies could make it cheaper and faster, the way NASA already buys rides to the space station.", "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-announces-ka-band-satellite-relay-awards-for-space-communications/", "sources": [ "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-announces-ka-band-satellite-relay-awards-for-space-communications/", "/editions/2026-11-04-evening-8/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-nasa-hires-three-companies-to-carry-its-spacecrafts-calls", "video_id": null, "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/nasa-tdrs-d-1989-1920.jpg", "image_credit": "NASA" }, { "beat": "AIR", "desk": "Air Mobility", "title": "Zipline raises $1.5 billion, and Walmart signs on for 300 more drone delivery sites", "text": "Zipline, which delivers packages by drone, raised $1.5 billion on Thursday, valuing it at $21.5 billion, and Walmart signed a multi-year deal to add 300 more Zipline delivery sites. Around Dallas and Fort Worth, the typical order arrived 19 minutes after checkout in October, DroneXL reports. On Friday, Wing said it plans a $125 million drone factory in Fort Worth. First in Evening Edition No. 9 and No. 10.", "why_it_matters": "a drone that brings groceries or medicine in under 20 minutes can save a trip for people who cannot drive easily. The new sites will open over several years, and the FAA's coming rule for drones that fly beyond the pilot's sight will decide how fast this spreads.", "source_url": "https://www.zipline.com/newsroom/zipline-raises-1-5-billion-to-build-nationwide-drone-delivery-network", "sources": [ "https://www.zipline.com/newsroom/zipline-raises-1-5-billion-to-build-nationwide-drone-delivery-network", "https://dronexl.co/2026/11/05/zipline-1-5-billion-raise-walmart-300-sites/", "https://wing.com/news/investing-in-american-innovation-aviation", "/editions/2026-11-05-evening-9/", "/editions/2026-11-06-evening-10/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-zipline-raises-1-5-billion-and-walmart-signs-on-for-300-mo", "video_id": null, "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/zipline-pod-patio-1450.jpg", "image_credit": "Zipline" }, { "beat": "MED", "desk": "Medicine", "title": "A gene editing medicine makes a hepatitis B virus signal vanish in 11 of 12 patients", "text": "Precision BioSciences shared early results for PBGENE-HBV, a gene editing medicine designed to cut and destroy the hidden copy of the hepatitis B virus inside liver cells, the reason today's pills can hold the virus down but rarely cure it. A blood sign of virus activity became undetectable in 11 of 12 patients who could be measured, and there were no serious side effects at the dose chosen for the next trial. Full results come today, Nov. 8, at a liver meeting in Denver, and a larger trial should start in early 2027. First in Evening Edition No. 9.", "why_it_matters": "hepatitis B affects many millions of people, and most must take pills for life. A medicine that wipes out the virus's hidden copy could one day let people stop treatment for good. This is an early, small trial, so bigger tests come next.", "source_url": "https://investor.precisionbiosciences.com/news-releases/news-release-details/precision-biosciences-announces-late-breaking-pbgene-hbv-data", "sources": [ "https://investor.precisionbiosciences.com/news-releases/news-release-details/precision-biosciences-announces-late-breaking-pbgene-hbv-data", "/editions/2026-11-05-evening-9/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-a-gene-editing-medicine-makes-a-hepatitis-b-virus-signal-v", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null }, { "beat": "DEF", "desk": "Defense", "title": "Shield AI agrees to buy drone-spotting radar maker Echodyne for $5.3 billion", "text": "Shield AI, a San Diego company that builds AI pilots and drones, agreed to buy Echodyne, whose flat radars with no moving parts are built into hundreds of systems that find and stop small drones, in more than 40 countries. The deal needs government approval and should close in early 2027. On Friday, the Army opened a $4.17 billion contract for 11 companies to design and build new ammunition plants over five years. First in Evening Edition No. 9 and No. 10.", "why_it_matters": "cheap drones have become a worry for armies, airports and stadiums, and you cannot stop a drone you cannot see. Putting an AI pilot company and a radar maker under one roof joins the eyes and the brains.", "source_url": "https://shield.ai/shield-to-acquire-echodyne-in-a-transaction-valued-at-5-3-billion-and-raise-2-5-billion-at-a-28-8-billion-valuation/", "sources": [ "https://shield.ai/shield-to-acquire-echodyne-in-a-transaction-valued-at-5-3-billion-and-raise-2-5-billion-at-a-28-8-billion-valuation/", "https://www.war.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4642767/contracts-for-nov-5-2026/", "/editions/2026-11-05-evening-9/", "/editions/2026-11-06-evening-10/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-shield-ai-agrees-to-buy-drone-spotting-radar-maker-echodyn", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null }, { "beat": "POLICY", "desk": "Law and Policy", "title": "The bank regulator tells examiners how to check AI that acts on its own", "text": "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees national banks, issued its first framework on Wednesday for how examiners should review AI. It sorts AI systems by what happens if they fail, puts AI agents that move payments or approve credit in the riskiest group, and suggests safeguards such as automatic stops and kill switches. It is guidance for examiners and does not create new rules, Decrypt notes. First in Evening Edition No. 8.", "why_it_matters": "banks are starting to let AI move money and approve loans. This tells them the government will check that a person can stop the AI fast if it goes wrong.", "source_url": "https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2026/bulletin-2026-54.html", "sources": [ "https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2026/bulletin-2026-54.html", "https://decrypt.co/382560/us-bank-regulator-issues-first-ai-framework-banks-battle-rogue-agents", "/editions/2026-11-04-evening-8/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-the-bank-regulator-tells-examiners-how-to-check-ai-that-ac", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null }, { "beat": "TOKEN", "desk": "Tokenized Assets", "title": "The first tokenized U.S. stock trades under the SEC's new exemption", "text": "Shares of Canton Strategic Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed company, traded in token form on Wednesday, the first trades of a tokenized U.S. stock under the SEC's Innovation Exemption. A tokenized stock is a share recorded on a blockchain, a shared digital ledger; the shares and the payment changed hands in a single step, and trading runs every hour of every day, but only for checked, approved buyers. First in Evening Edition No. 9. Not investment advice.", "why_it_matters": "today a stock trade takes a day to settle and markets close at night and on weekends. Tokenized shares could settle at once and trade any time. This first step is small, so ordinary investors will wait a while.", "source_url": "https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-trades-of-tokenized-us-equity-under-sec-innovation-exemption-executed-on-the-canton-network-302929795.html", "sources": [ "https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-trades-of-tokenized-us-equity-under-sec-innovation-exemption-executed-on-the-canton-network-302929795.html", "/editions/2026-11-05-evening-9/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-the-first-tokenized-u-s-stock-trades-under-the-secs-new-ex", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null }, { "beat": "WILD", "desk": "Wildcard", "title": "Xiaomi's humanoid robots work a full 8-hour shift in its car factory", "text": "Xiaomi says its humanoid robots worked a full 8-hour shift in its electric car factory, sorting parts and catching and fixing their own mistakes, Electrek reports. Xiaomi did not share how many parts were sorted, the success rate, or how often a person had to step in. First in Evening Edition No. 8.", "why_it_matters": "a robot that can last a full shift is a robot a factory might actually pay for. It could take over dull, repetitive jobs and leave people the work that needs judgment.", "source_url": "https://electrek.co/2026/11/04/xiaomi-humanoid-robot-8-hour-shift-ev-factory/", "sources": [ "https://electrek.co/2026/11/04/xiaomi-humanoid-robot-8-hour-shift-ev-factory/", "/editions/2026-11-04-evening-8/" ], "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/#story-xiaomis-humanoid-robots-work-a-full-8-hour-shift-in-its-ca", "video_id": null, "image_url": null, "image_credit": null } ], "videos": [], "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }, "cite": "Singularity Nightly, \"The Week: Neighbors Push Back on AI Data Centers, NASA Picks a Nuclear Rover for Its Moon Base, and Drones Head to 300 More Walmarts\", Sunday, November 8, 2026, https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-08-the-week-2/. CC BY 4.0." }