Definition
An AI infrastructure moratorium is a government order that pauses or restricts new physical buildout of AI infrastructure, such as data centers, typically due to concerns about power, water, or community impact. New York's statewide executive order pausing new data center approvals is the first such binding action in the US.
Why it matters
This shows AI governance is expanding beyond rules about models and data to physical constraints on where and how fast companies can build the compute capacity AI depends on, creating a new category of siting and expansion risk.