Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and right-wing Gov. Ron DeSantis agree on virtually nothing. But they found common ground this year as leading skeptics of the artificial intelligence industry’s data center boom.
The alignment of two national figures on the left and right signals that a political reckoning is brewing over the AI industry’s impact on electricity prices, grid stability and the labor market. The opposition could slow the industry’s development plans if it reaches a broad bipartisan consensus.
Sanders, I-VT, has called for a national moratorium on data center construction.
“Frankly, I think you’ve got to slow this process down,” Sanders told CNN in a Dec. 28 interview. “It’s not good enough for the oligarchs to tell us it’s coming — you adapt. What are they talking about? They’re going to guarantee healthcare to all people? What are they going to do when people have no jobs?”
Florida Gov. DeSantis unveiled an AI bill of rights on Dec. 4 that would protect local communities’ right to block data center construction among other provisions. The staunch Republican’s proposal could run afoul of the White House, which is pushing to scale up AI as quickly as possible. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Dec. 11 to prevent “excessive state regulation” of AI.
