Democratic Senator Mark Warner took aim at the bill seeking to pause the building of data centers in the U.S. until there are AI safeguards in place.
Speaking to Axios, Warner said imposing a moratorium until developing the rules would be "idiocy."
"A data center moratorium simply means China is going to move quicker," he added. "The idea that we're going to stuff this back into the bottle, this genie, that's a ridiculous premise."
He was not the only one. On Wednesday, Sen. John Fetterman, made a similar statement. "The emerging chassis of AI must be built by America. We can put appropriate guardrails in place without handing the win on AI to China. A moratorium is China First," he said in a social media publication.
The bill in question requires "strong national safeguards" to be in place before new AI data centers can be built in the country. It would only be lifted after the passing of federal legislation outlining protections for worders and consumers. The law would also need to prevent the harm of the environment and defend civil rights.
Axios noted in another report that, should that bill be passed, projects to build data centers could be on hold for years, considering that Congress is far from any legislation regarding AI.
"AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity," Sanders said in a statement to The Guardian.
"The scale, scope, and speed of that change is unprecedented. Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts," he added.
The outlet went on to recall that several towns and counties across the U.S. have passed temporary bans on the building of data centers. At least 11 states are considering similar policies, according to Good Jobs First, a watchdog group.
Originally published on Latin Times
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