Two of the highest-profile progressives in the House and Senate will officially announce legislation Wednesday that would impose a pause on the construction of new data centers.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been teasing what is now dubbed the “Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act” for weeks, citing the need for government regulation to catch up with the rapid growth of infrastructure to support artificial intelligence.
“The United States Congress hasn’t a clue — not a clue — as to how to respond to these revolutionary technologies,” Sanders said in a recent video posted to social media. “The bottom line, in my view, is that to protect our workers … we need a moratorium on data centers.”
Most members of both parties have rejected the idea of a moratorium, but it has gained traction with progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), former chair of the Progressive Caucus.
