Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Propose AI Data Center Moratorium

Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York introduced companion legislation on Wednesday to impose a federal moratorium on the construction or upgrading of large artificial intelligence data centers across the United States. The bills target facilities with peak power loads exceeding 20 megawatts and would halt such projects until Congress passes comprehensive AI regulations addressing safety, environmental impacts and worker protections.

The proposed moratorium, outlined in the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, would remain in effect until new laws require government review and certification of AI models before release, protections against job displacement caused by AI, limits on the environmental footprint of data infrastructure, and the use of union labor in construction. The legislation also seeks to prohibit exports of advanced computing hardware, such as semiconductor chips, to countries lacking similar safeguards. Sanders' office emphasized that the measure aims to ensure AI development benefits working families rather than concentrating wealth among tech executives.

Lawmakers cited mounting concerns over the rapid expansion of...