FLOWS Pulse: This Week in AI & Tech
- FLOWS Online
- Jul 24
- 3 min read
July 24, 2025
Welcome to the inaugural edition of FLOWS Pulse — your curated, human-verified snapshot of what’s shaping the AI and tech landscape right now. We scan the noise, track what matters, and deliver it to your screen in one smooth scroll. All sources are trusted, all takes are fresh.
1. AI’s Growing Energy Appetite Is Stressing the U.S. Power Grid
Source: Barron’s
The rapid rise of generative AI is having real-world consequences beyond the digital realm — particularly on energy infrastructure. A new report from Barron’s reveals that major players like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are now consuming electricity at a scale previously seen only in manufacturing-heavy industries. In fact, certain regions in the United States are reporting AI data centers drawing more power than small cities.
The surge is largely due to the energy-intensive demands of model training and inference — especially for products like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Industry leaders are beginning to confront a stark reality: without sustainable energy partnerships and policy reform, the infrastructure supporting AI may not be able to keep up with its ambitions.
FLOWS Insight:
Tech brands pushing green AI must now prove it. Expect investment in “energy-optimized models” and regional energy partnerships to become central in 2025.
2. UK Government Signs OpenAI Deal — And More Are Coming
Source: ITPro / UK Government Briefings
In a major step toward international AI regulation, the UK government has officially entered into agreements with OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. The deals allow regulators to gain controlled access to the inner workings of frontier AI models — a move being described as the beginning of an “AI safety testing regime.”
According to ITPro, this agreement includes commitments from tech firms to share key information about model behavior, performance limitations, and potential misuse risks. The goal is to help policymakers assess dangers like hallucinations, bias, and security vulnerabilities before these systems are released to the public.
FLOWS Insight:
This model testing access sets a precedent. Expect other countries to follow with similar “regulatory preview” agreements as AI oversight grows.
3. Anthropic Faces Backlash After Secret AI Training Dataset Leaks Online
Source: Business Insider
A leaked spreadsheet from Anthropic — the AI company behind Claude — has revealed a vast list of websites used to train its AI models. The list includes thousands of domains, many of which were used without the site owners’ knowledge or consent. Among them are major publications, independent blogs, educational sites, and even some niche forums.
As Business Insider reports, this leak is drawing attention to a longstanding criticism in AI development: the lack of transparency around training data. While scraping public content is legal in many jurisdictions, critics argue that it disregards creators’ rights and intellectual property.
FLOWS Insight:
This raises serious transparency questions for all major AI labs. Watch for increased public demand for “training data nutrition labels” in AI models.
4. No, The Simpsons Didn’t Predict That. Another AI Hoax Debunked
Source: Tom’s Guide
In a viral wave of misinformation, AI-generated images have been circulating online falsely claiming that The Simpsons predicted recent events — from political moments to tech disasters. None of these clips or frames are real. According to Tom’s Guide, they are created using advanced AI image tools and passed off as authentic screenshots.
The report breaks down how these fake visuals gain traction and how to identify telltale signs of fabrication — like incorrect shading, frame inconsistencies, or nonexistent episode references. As visual deepfakes become easier to produce, this issue will continue to escalate.
FLOWS Insight:
AI-generated hoaxes are evolving fast. Creators, platforms, and educators must prioritize media literacy and responsible sharing practices.
Sources Cited:
Written by the FLOWS Editorial Team
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