Democrats in key House, Senate races sign AI regulation pledge amid data center scrutiny

Eighteen House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates have signed a pledge to push for beefed-up regulations on the AI industry, as the rapidly evolving technology continues to impact Americans.

The candidates, 17 Democrats and one independent — populist Dan Osborn, who is challenging Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts (Neb.) — agreed to back a five-pronged approach to artificial intelligence by signing the AI Pact.

The pact, proposed by the anti-corruption Political Integrity Project , calls on lawmakers to end data center “giveaways and backroom deals,” establish a requirement for mandatory safety reviews before AI companies release their models, create an AI dividend to help workers navigate “market disruptions,” hold firms accountable for “financial and material harms,” and withhold from backing public bailouts for AI companies that “take on reckless market risk.”

Concerns about AI and the construction of data centers have grown among Americans, based on recent polling.

Sixty-three percent of respondents to a survey Emerson College conducted last month opposed the construction of data centers in or near their community, while 27 percent supported it and 10 percent were neutral.

An Emerson poll from December found opposition to data center construction at 42 percent, while support stood at 33 percent.

Charlie Blaettler, the political director of the Guardrails Alliance, noted the AI industry is spending “hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying and on super PACs like Leading the Future to scare candidates and lawmakers from standing up for common sense” AI regulations.

“Candidates need to make it clear whether they stand with the vast majority of Americans who want serious regulations on this technology or if they’re going to roll over for the AI industry in exchange for campaign checks,” Blaettler added in a release. The Guardrails Alliance backs regulating AI “before it’s too late to matter.”

A medium-sized data center can consume up to about 110 million gallons of water per year for cooling purposes, equivalent to the annual water usage of roughly 1,000 households, an analyst at the nonprofit Environmental and Energy Study Institute reported last year .

The use of AI has risen in the medical industry, particularly with respect to developing treatments and cures for diseases. More than three-quarters of physicians said they believe the technology improves their ability to care for patients, according to the American Medical Association .

Among the signatories of the AI Pact are Florida Senate Democratic nominee Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, and Connie Chan, a Democrat running to succeed retiring former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Gina Hinojosa (D), who is challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), also signed the pledge. Those who signed the pledge include candidates from 14 states across the country.