Leading progressives introduced draft legislation that would pause the construction and upgrading of certain Artificial Intelligence data centers until federal rules are enacted to govern Artificial Intelligence, energy costs, and environmental effects. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez framed the proposal as a response to growing public unease over how Artificial Intelligence is affecting workers, consumers, and communities. The measure is unlikely to advance under Republican control of Congress, but it highlights a clear divide with the Trump administration’s policy approach and gives Democrats a platform for midterm arguments around affordability and technology oversight.
The Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act would halt new and upgraded data centers “used for the development or operation of artificial intelligence models at scale” and that exceed certain electricity loads. The moratorium could be lifted only after federal laws are enacted in three areas. One would require federal review of Artificial Intelligence products before release to ensure they do not threaten working families, privacy, civil rights, or humanity’s future. Another would seek to ensure that the economic gains of Artificial Intelligence and robotics benefit workers rather than only major technology owners, including policies to prevent Artificial Intelligence-related job displacement and to share resulting wealth more broadly. A third would require limits on data center expansion so facilities do not raise electricity or utility costs, worsen climate change, harm the environment, receive government subsidies, or move forward without community consent, while also requiring union jobs.
The bill also would direct the Commerce Department to prohibit exports of “computing infrastructure hardware” such as chips to countries that lack similar regulations. Sanders said a moratorium would “give us time” to understand Artificial Intelligence risks and “protect working families.” Ocasio-Cortez linked the issue to rising energy costs near data centers and argued that consumers are not seeing relief despite the administration’s recent efforts to secure voluntary commitments from large technology companies.
Public skepticism around Artificial Intelligence gives the proposal political resonance. An NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted in late February and early March found that 57 percent of respondents agreed that “the risks outweigh the benefits of AI.” The same survey found that 33 percent of respondents said that neither party would be good at handling AI. Some 20 percent favored Republicans to react well and 19 percent favored Democrats. The legislation arrives as Democrats position themselves to campaign on the economic and social costs of unchecked Artificial Intelligence infrastructure growth.
