Bernie Sanders’ new AI safety bill would halt data center construction

Dozens of cities and counties across the United States have imposed local bans on data center development in response to local resistance. At least a dozen state legislatures — in Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming — have imposed statewide moratoriums this year.

But Sanders’ bill represents a major departure from much of this legislation. The new draft law focuses not only on the environmental and societal impacts of data centers, but on the safety of artificial intelligence as a whole. Since his announcement in December, Sanders has been outspoken about the potential risks that artificial intelligence poses to society. Especially for workers.

“It makes sense to me that the bill would focus primarily on that aspect,” says Mitch Jones, director of policy and litigation at Food and Water Watch, an environmental watchdog group that advised Sanders’ office on the moratorium. Food and Water Watch also called for a December letter from progressive groups.

The Pew poll found that Democrats are more likely to view data centers unfavorably, but it’s not just national progressives raising concerns. Before Sanders expressed his opposition to data centers, some prominent Republican and MAGA politicians spoke out, including… Actor Thomas Massey, Senator Josh Hawleyand Then actress Marjorie Taylor Greenewere already vocally skeptical about the construction of the data center. Last month, Hawley and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced A invoice To insulate customers from rising electricity prices due to data centers. In December, Steve Bannon, one of the most influential anti-AI voices in Washington, Hosted segment attic War room Podcast titled “Data Centers Eating Public Lands.”

Many of the bills introduced at the state level have been sponsored by Democratic politicians. (Monitor food and water The craft helped New York bill.) Bills have been introduced in some states, including Oklahoma, by Republicans; The Georgia bill had Democratic and Republican sponsors.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been particularly vocal about potential harm from data centers and artificial intelligence. “I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to have higher energy bills so some chatbot can screw up some 13-year-olds online,” DeSantis said. He said At an Artificial Intelligence Roundtable in February. In December, DeSantis Approved legislation It would have created a bill of rights to protect consumers from potential harms from AI, including prohibiting minors from interacting with AI-based chatbots without parental consent, as well as a data center proposal to eliminate subsidies for tech companies and prevent data centers from running up electricity bills. The resulting AI Bill of Rights legislation It passed the state Senate, but died in the House.

The White House and Big Tech have both done so I confess The push to build data centers suffers from poor public visibility. In March, representatives from major data center developers and AI companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google, met. They gathered at the White House To sign a non-binding agreement aimed at making data centers pay “the full cost of energy and infrastructure” and protecting consumers from rising prices. “Data centers…need some PR help,” President Donald Trump said at the event. Experts told WIRED that the agreement signed at the White House was largely symbolic, and that some of the agreement’s main goals — including data centers absorbing any additional costs on customer bills — lie largely out of the hands of the White House and tech companies.

“A moratorium would limit internet capacity, slow critical services, eliminate hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs, drain billions in local tax revenue, and increase costs for American families and small businesses,” Cy McNeil, senior director of federal affairs at the Data Center Alliance, an industry group, told WIRED in an email. McNeil says the industry “remains committed to working with communities, local officials, state and federal policymakers and the administration to ensure the continued responsible development of this industry while protecting families and businesses.”