AI Capex Forecasts Blow Out as Deepfake Ads Slip Through — August 20, 2026

Dell’Oro Group now expects worldwide data-centre capex to top $3 trillion by 2030 as AI accelerators dominate budgets, a compute-spending surge echoed by Lanarkshire and Korea buildouts while Meta’s deepfake-ad failure shows the moderation costs around generative AI. In this episode Dell'Oro lifts data centre capex forecast on AI demand — DataCenter News Dell'Oro lifts data centre capex forecast on AI demand # Dell'Oro lifts data centre capex forecast on AI demand Wed, 19th Aug 2026 (Today) JOSEPH GABRIEL LAGONSIN News Editor Dell'Oro Group has forecast that worldwide data centre capital expenditure will surpass $3 trillion by 2030, nearly double its January 2026 outlook. The revised forecast points to sustained spending on AI… DataVita secures £300m facility to support delivery of Lanarkshire data centres | BE News — BE News DataVita secures £300m facility to support delivery of Lanarkshire data centres | BE News Discover: # DataVita secures £300m facility to support delivery of Lanarkshire data centres ##### By ##### Simon Creasey - August 18, 2026 Share this: DataVita has secured a circa £300m debt facility to expand and build two data centres in the North Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone. The investment will… Meta ran ads for an app promising to nudify female politicians — Ars Technica Meta platforms recently ran ads for an AI porn-generation tool that seemingly encouraged users to create deepfaked videos resembling female US politicians, despite the company’s policies against ads containing sexual material. It’s the latest in a series of failures by Meta to keep advertisements for tools that produce nonconsensual intimate imagery off its platforms. The tool, which is called… “This is a potential lawsuit for Meta. Also, the app creator is in violation of US law and may be arrested if found to be a US citizen or in a country with an US extradition agreement.” — Hacker News (6 pts thread) Our take: We agree that legal exposure is the right frame, but the harder question is whether liability attaches only to the app or also to the ad system that monetized and distributed it. If a platform’s policies don’t stop paid promotion of nonconsensual deepfake tools, “we banned it” starts sounding like compliance theater. Alibaba Cloud opens third South Korea datacentre | Computer Weekly — Computer Weekly Alibaba Cloud opens third South Korea datacentre | Computer Weekly eyetronic - stock.adobe.com By - Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget Published: 19 Aug 2026 2:51 Alibaba Cloud has switched on its third datacentre in South Korea, a year after its second facility went live and four years after it first put infrastructure on the ground in the country. The Chinese hyperscaler announced the launch… Step Back — When a platform says it has safeguards against AI deepfakes, what should we look for beyond the policy statement—how are those safeguards tested, enforced, and held accountable when harmful content is being monetized? Background sources Reported AI-Generated Sexualized Video — Oversightboard Meta’s deepfake moderation isn’t good enough, says Oversight Board | The Verge — Jess Weatherbed YouTube clarifies policies around AI slop and upsetting videos | TechCrunch — Sarah Perez Daily TopFive for AI Daily Briefing. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate AI Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts. Feedback? Email ai-daily-briefing@lanternpodcasts.com.