The Download: Pelosi’s successor targets AI and data centers face power woes

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Nancy Pelosi’s replacement is ready to regulate AI —Grace Huckins As a California state senator, Scott Wiener authored legislation aimed at curbing the risks of advanced AI.

Now, after winning a tight congressional race for Nancy Pelosi’s open San Francisco seat, he could play a key role in setting federal AI policy.

I spoke with Wiener only a few hours after he had been declared the victor.

But he was already thinking about AI risk: during our 20-minute conversation, he used the phrase “recursive self-improvement” half a dozen times.  “We need to slow this down,” he told me.

“Because it’s moving very quickly, and we could sleepwalk into a disaster.” Still, he describes himself as only “cautiously optimistic” about Congress’s ability to rein in AI.

Here’s what he plans to do about it.

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