Bernie Sanders calls for halt on AI data center construction — wants to ensure that the technology benefits ‘all of us, not just the 1%’

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that he will push for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers to ensure that the technology will be useful for the greatest number of Americans and not just the few multi-billionaires who are advocating for the widespread use of artificial intelligence. According to the senator’s X post, this delay “will give democracy a chance to catch up, and ensure that the benefits of technology work for all of us, not just the 1%.” Sanders raised three points in his short video: ‘Who is aggressively pushing AI?’; ‘What will AI and robotics mean economically for the working class of this country?’; and ‘Millions of kids in this country are becoming more and more isolated from real human relationships and are getting their emotional support from AI.’

The current AI build-out is largely driven by big tech companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Oracle, and Meta, among others. With trillions of dollars being poured into the infrastructure required to support artificial intelligence, many experts are warning that it’s becoming unsustainable and that we are already in an AI bubble. Aside from this, Microsoft’s push for Copilot+ AI PCs did not deliver the sales it was expecting, with most consumers simply purchasing AI PCs because there’s no other option when upgrading from Windows 10.

There have also been concerns about AI replacing people in the workforce. While this hasn’t resulted in widespread layoffs yet, MIT estimates that AI could replace up to 11.7% of American workers across industries, not just in tech. Even Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that the widespread use of this technology could result in up to 20% unemployment within the next five years, with Ford CEO Jim Farley warning that it will wipe out nearly half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.

Sanders also raised concerns about children using AI for companionship instead of building relationships with other people. “Think for a moment about a future when human beings are not interacting with each other and are spending virtually all of their time with devices instead of people,” Sanders said. “Is that the kind of future you want? Well, not me.”

The senator from Vermont wants to halt all progress on AI data center construction to address these issues first. He also isn’t the only one concerned about the possible negative impacts of artificial intelligence on society, as Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and two other Democrat senators recently sent letters recently to several big tech companies asking them to explain how their AI data centers are impacting residential energy bills. These moves directly contradict the current administration’s goal of turning the U.S. into an AI powerhouse, with Trump signing an executive order for the so-called ‘Genesis Mission’ — an initiative to drive AI development across the country — and is even comparing its scale with the Manhattan Project.

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