24 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN April/May 2026 THE OTHER AI The Good, the Bad and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence Part 4 TRESSA LAWRENCE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER PRODUCTION In the past three months, we have covered what artificial intelligence (AI) is, some programs that might be useful in your operation, as well as examples of Nebraskans using AI in the beef industry. We have discussed some of the benefits of using AI, including increased efficiency, reduced human error and streamlined data analysis. As with any new technology or product, you have to weigh the negatives with the positives. With AI being relatively new and constantly evolving, the regulations and legislation surrounding it are murky and lagging. Legislation The competition to be on the leading edge of AI has been likened to an international arms race, meaning that the U.S. government has been hesitant to regulate AI in hopes of staying at the forefront of the industry. “The argument with implementing regulations around AI is, do we think Russia and China have these guardrails on their AI? Doubtful,” says John Winkler, director of the Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District. “If there were international guardrails, how do we police them to verify that somebody is not cheating? And what are the ramifications to us for following those rules if others don’t? Does that put us far behind or at a disadvantage? So, that is a huge issue.” The European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of data privacy regulations internationally. The EU passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016, which set the standard for data protection worldwide. The GDPR includes things such as being able to ask a company to delete your data. International tech companies such as Microsoft and Google applied those policies to their companies worldwide in an effort to streamline their compliance even before standards were adopted internationally. It is anticipated that any regulations the EU sets for AI moving forward will eventually trickle down to other countries. Individual states, including South Dakota, Montana and Utah, have enacted legislation surrounding the regulatory and compliance frameworks for AI. In Nebraska, there are multiple AI-related bills being introduced in the Legislature this year, including the “Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act” and “Transparency in Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act and Related Amendments,” which is a priority for this year’s Legislature. This has created a patchwork of varying regulations for tech companies to try to comply with. States are passing legislation surrounding AI and privacy; however, enforcing compliance may be challenging for tech companies, because the internet and AI do not magically stop at or recognize state lines. Environmental Impact AI is powered by data centers. These data centers are often massive warehouses that house rows upon rows of server stacks, which take an astonishing amount of energy to power. According to Congress.gov, in 2023, AI data centers used approximately 4.4 percent of the United States’ annual electricity consumption. That number is expected to jump to 12 percent by 2028. Roughly half of that energy is used to actually power the IT equipment inside, with the other half being used for equipment cooling. The servers and other equipment produce heat as they work, raising the ambient temperature and requiring cooling systems to run almost constantly, and those cooling systems require water. Water that evaporates during the cooling process is considered consumptive water, and water that is flushed out of the system and back into wastewater facilities is considered non-consumptive. There are various cooling technologies, including closed-loop cooling systems that require less water, evaporation cooling systems that require more water and hybrid options evolving in an attempt to better manage water consumption. “The environmental footprint is massive,” says Joe Budd, deputy director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. “The water piece is huge, especially in your western states.”
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