Klas: AI has turned Bernie and DeSantis into unlikely allies

"Vermont's Democratic Socialist senator and Florida's right-wing governor want to slam the brakes on the hundreds of resource-intensive new facilities springing up across the country to power the artificial intelligence industry. And both point to profits, not the public good, as the real factor motivating the boom. In many ways, the convergence was inevitable. Public wariness about the data-center industry is growing, and politicians could no longer ignore the outcry. Public skepticism of AI is also ubiquitous."

"What we don't want to do is be subsidizing or put a thumb on the scale for technologies that are going to supplant the human experience, he said. He called for an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights to safeguard data privacy, parental controls and consumer protections. And he backed legislation that requires data centers to pay the full cost of their energy and water use and allows local communities to stop data-center construction that doesn't mesh with their growth plans."

Bernie Sanders and Ron DeSantis both oppose rapid expansion of resource-intensive data centers built to power artificial intelligence, arguing profits outweigh public interest. They cite environmental strain, rising utility and water costs, and threats to community planning. Public skepticism of AI and unease about data-center impacts have increased amid AI-driven harms such as fake news, nonconsensual imagery and propaganda. DeSantis proposed an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights to protect privacy, parental controls and consumer protections, and supported laws requiring data centers to pay full energy and water costs and allowing local vetoes of incompatible projects. He challenged federal limits on state-level AI regulation.

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