Bernie Sanders and AOC unleash a bill to halt all new AI data centers until this one key demand is met

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are making a big move, rolling out legislation that would put a hard stop on all new AI data center construction across the country. The pair just announced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, as reported by The Hill, and it’s pretty clear about its goal: no new AI infrastructure gets built until some serious national safeguards are firmly in place.

They’re essentially looking for measures that would require government reviews of AI products, tackle the huge issue of potential mass job displacement, and keep a lid on consumer electricity prices. The thinking here is that with AI developing at such a rapid pace, we really need to pump the brakes and make sure we’re building a future that works for everyone, not just a select few.

Sanders really hammered home the “time” aspect at a press conference, which I think is a really crucial point. He said, “A moratorium will give us time — time to understand the risks, time to protect working families, time to defend our democracy and time to ensure that this technology works for all of us, not just the few.”

This bill, put forward by Sanders and AOC, aims to bring that local resistance to a national stage

It’s not the first time he’s brought this up either; he actually floated the idea of a moratorium back in December. You’ve probably seen similar pushes happening at the state level too, as local communities are getting pretty vocal about the rapid rise of data centers and the impact they have on soaring electricity costs and the environment.

Ocasio-Cortez, who’s teaming up with Sanders on this bill, also highlighted some very real worries about AI’s potential to expand mass surveillance. She stated, “All of this harm has occurred, not in spite of, but because of the absence of federal legislation to regulate AI.” She added that this isn’t her first rodeo when it comes to AI bills, and it’s been “extremely discouraging to see how even the most minute efforts to protect people at some of the smallest and most basic level, like trying to prevent AI-generated child pornography, is still combated.”

Of course, not everyone is on board with hitting the brakes on data center construction. Cy McNeill, who’s the senior director of federal affairs at the Data Center Coalition, quickly pushed back on the idea. He argued that these data centers are literally what “power modern life.” He suggested that “this infrastructure is not optional; it is foundational.”

McNeill warned that “a federal mandate to halt data center construction risks rationing access to digital services, impairs our global competitiveness, and will have substantial impacts on Americans’ daily lives.”