Bernie Sanders, AOC Push for Pausing Data Centres to Regulate AI Progress, Facing Heat in Congress

Artificial Intelligence is getting the heat, and some lawmakers say AI is left loose and dangerously unchecked. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez passed a bill to hit pause on the infrastructure powering AI before it outruns regulation.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have introduced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, legislation that would immediately halt the construction of new AI data centres until federal safeguards are in place.

What the Moratorium Act Says

'AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity,' Sanders said in an official statement.

'The scale, scope and speed of that change is unprecedented.' His argument is not subtle. Congress, he insists, is 'way behind' and risks ceding control to what he describes as 'a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs'.

Critics say what once sounded like a fringe demand now lands in a far more receptive environment, shaped by rising public unease and a growing sense that AI's expansion is happening faster than anyone can meaningfully govern it.

'We have seen ICE partner with AI companies to surveil Americans, social media users employ AI bots to create sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children, and data center construction inflate electric bills in communities across the country,' she said.

'Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers.'

What It 'Would Actually Do'

The legislation is designed to buy time to freeze new AI data centre development nationwide until Congress establishes rules to address a cluster of concerns that range from worker displacement to environmental strain.

Data centres require vast amounts of electricity and water, particularly for cooling systems, and their rapid expansion has already triggered local resistance in parts of the US. Some regions with heavy concentrations of such facilities have seen power costs rise sharply, with one analysis pointing to increases of 267% over five years.

A report from the Center for Biological Diversity warned that, if current trends continue, data centres could account for nearly half of the emissions allowed under US power sector climate targets. That figure alone helps explain why more than 200 advocacy groups have urged federal leaders to intervene.

The proposed bill goes further than a domestic pause. It would also restrict exports of key AI computing hardware, including specialised chips, to countries lacking comparable safeguards. That element reflects a deeper anxiety, that the global race for AI dominance could become a race to the bottom on safety.

Growing Anxiety, Uneven Politics

Public sentiment is shifting in ways that politicians can no longer ignore.

In 2025, Pew Research Center reported half of US adults feel more concerned than excited about AI's growing role in daily life, while 60% support stronger regulation.

When asked to weigh the impact of data centres, voters consistently point to rising utility costs and energy consumption as pressing worries.

There is also the question of jobs. 'Last year alone, AI was responsible for over 54,000 layoffs nationwide,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

Sanders has taken the argument further, warning about mental health and social consequences.

'What does it mean for young people to form friendships with AI and become more and more lonely and isolated from other human beings?' he asked.

Even figures within the technology sector have expressed caution. In 2023, more than 1,000 industry leaders and scientists called for a temporary pause in AI development. Elon Musk later said he had 'a lot of AI nightmares' and would slow progress if possible. Others, including Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and Anthropic's Dario Amodei, have indicated conditional support for slowing development, though always with a caveat that competitors would need to follow suit.

Resistance In Washington And Beyond

The bill faces long odds as the Trump administration has taken a markedly different approach, actively promoting AI expansion and recently convening technology executives at the White House to secure voluntary commitments on energy use and costs.

For some Republicans and industry allies, the idea of a federal moratorium borders on economic self-sabotage, an unnecessary brake on a sector seen as vital to national competitiveness.

'Call me a radical, but NO. We should not be replacing teachers in America with robots,' he wrote on X, a move after First Lady Melania Trump walked with a humanoid robot in hand.

'The future of AI is personified. It will be formed in the shape of humans. Very soon, artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility. They fit well. Imagine a humanoid educator named Plato,' the First Lady said.

'We should attract the best and brightest in our country to become teachers and pay them the decent wages that they deserve,' Sanders added, amid growing concern that of the Education Department chopping block.

The question is no longer whether AI will reshape the economy and society. It already is. The more uncomfortable question, the one Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are forcing into the open, is who gets to decide the terms.