Bernie Sanders and AOC propose a ban on data center construction

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have introduced companion legislation in Congress proposing a significant halt to AI infrastructure development. Their bill would ban the construction of any new data centers with a peak power load exceeding 20 megawatts. This move directly targets the massive computing facilities powering the current AI boom, citing a need to pause expansion until comprehensive federal AI regulations are enacted. The lawmakers point to warnings from tech luminaries like Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Anthropic's Dario Amodei about AI's potential dangers, alongside a March Pew Research poll finding a majority of Americans are more concerned than excited about the technology.

The proposed legislation outlines a broad regulatory framework that would be a prerequisite for lifting the data center moratorium. Key demands include requiring the U.S. government to review and certify AI models before release, enacting protections against AI-driven job displacement, and limiting the environmental impact of data infrastructure. It also mandates the use of union labor for construction and seeks to prohibit the export of advanced chips to countries lacking similar rules—a provision that would currently apply to most nations. While the bill faces steep political challenges due to massive AI industry lobbying and geopolitical competition with China, it represents a major opening bid in defining the scope of future AI regulation, directly linking infrastructure growth to societal safeguards.