🤖 Is an AI agent booking your flight?

💧 We Need To Fix Our Water Crisis

Back in April, we highlighted the news that WA is about to experience its fourth year of drought due to reduced snowpack resulting from warmer temperatures and climate change. By 2080, the amount of snow we get each year is expected to be cut in half, and now it seems as though state leaders are planning to find ways to solve the water challenges we face. [Washington State Standard]

• 🏔️ A new initiative: This summer, a new initiative called Washington’s Water Future will bring tribes, industry leaders, communities, and environmentalists together to discuss ways to solve our water crisis and share recommendations to Bob Ferguson before the 2027 legislative session.
• 🚱 Last year, the Department of Ecology took the unprecedented and controversial step of restricting water use in the Yakima River Basin. They are hoping not to do the same this year.
• 🤖 As AI demands grow, so do energy demands: As we are looking for new ways to solve our water crisis, a new San Francisco-based start-up called Armada has hired about 120 people in Bellevue to create portable data centers. Data centers’ massive demand on water supply has been documented extensively; according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, large data centers consume up to 5 million gallons a day. [GeekWire]
• 🚰 Help save water: We can all do small things to save water while our government does big things. Here are some tips from the Department of Ecology, and read on to find out where to fill your water bottle downtown this summer.

🧑‍✈️ Bob fined for flight: Governor Ferguson was fined $4,000 for allowing former aide Mike Webb to fly with him on a state plane last year for a trip to the Tri-Cities. The state Executive Ethics Board said that Ferguson used state resources for “private benefit” and provided a “special privilege to a non-state employee.” [Seattle Times]

🤖 Your travel agent is AI: Expedia is growing its use of AI to handle customer support. More than 30% of such interactions are resolved by chatbots, the company reported on a first-quarter earnings call last week. Customer service agents can now read AI-generated summaries of previous conversations. Expedia cut 162 roles at its Seattle headquarters in the last year. [GeekWire]

🥤 Fill your water downtown: If you happen to be downtown and parched, you can refill your bottle at these newly installed water refill stations: 1000 2nd Ave, 501 Olive Way, 1398 3rd Avenue, 898 3rd Avenue, 298 James St, 100 Pike St, 201 Occidental Ave. We made a Google map list with all the sites here. Thanks, Seattle Public Utilities! [City of Seattle]