Microsoft pulls out of Nscale's planned Essex AI data centre

HotTea: The AI Morning Briefing · Oct 19, 2026 · 4m · transcript

The BBC reports that Microsoft has ended its involvement in Loughton. Nscale says its other Microsoft contracts are unaffected. This edition covers 5 evidence-backed stories. AI-generated narration. Complete briefing and source links. https://hottea.ai/archive/2026-10-19?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=daily_briefing Sections 00:00 What we're covering today 00:25 1. Microsoft pulls out of Nscale's planned Essex AI data centre 01:19 2. Anthropic asks lawyers how AI agents should negotiate, FT reports 02:02 3. A Harness2 bug report shows an old passing grade attached to a…