Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduce invoice to pause AI rollout amid rising backlash to expertise.
Revealed On 26 Mar 2026
Two progressive lawmakers in the US are pushing for a moratorium on new AI knowledge centres to make sure the rapidly-advancing expertise doesn’t threaten the “way forward for humanity”.
The laws unveiled by Senator Bernie Sanders and Home Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday would pause the development of knowledge centres till the introduction of nationwide safeguards to guard employees’ livelihoods, civil liberties and the surroundings.
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Sanders, an unbiased who represents the state of Vermont, mentioned a moratorium was wanted as lawmakers had been “approach behind” of their understanding of AI.
“Backside line: We can not sit again and permit a handful of billionaire Large Tech oligarchs to make choices that may reshape our economic system, our democracy and the way forward for humanity,” Sanders mentioned.
“We want severe public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential concern. The time for motion is now. We want a federal moratorium on AI knowledge centres,” he mentioned.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents New York, mentioned the shortage of nationwide laws regulating AI had already led to harms starting from mass authorities surveillance to the proliferation of sexually express deepfakes of ladies and kids.
“Congress has an ethical obligation to face with the American individuals and cease the enlargement of those knowledge facilities till we now have a framework to adequately tackle the existential hurt AI poses to our society,” she mentioned.
“We should select humanity over revenue.”
The proposed laws comes amid a rising grassroots backlash to the rollout of knowledge centres, which eat big quantities of water and electrical energy, in communities throughout the US.
At the very least 36 knowledge centres had been blocked or delayed within the US between Might 2024 and June 2025, disrupting $162bn in funding, in accordance with Knowledge Heart Watch, a analysis undertaking by AI safety firm 10a Labs.
Opposition to the tasks, a lot of it pushed by issues about rising electrical energy costs and environmental harms, has minimize throughout partisan strains, spanning Republican and Democratic-led states together with Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri and Oregon.
In an opinion ballot printed by NBC Information earlier this month, 57 p.c of registered US voters mentioned they believed the dangers from AI outweighed the advantages, in contrast with 34 p.c who felt the other.
Simply 26 p.c of voters mentioned they felt positively about AI, in contrast with 46 p.c who had unfavourable views, in accordance with the ballot.
The Sanders-Ocasio-Cortez invoice nonetheless faces an uphill battle within the US Congress, the place Republicans management each the Home of Representatives and the Senate, and even Democrats are divided on find out how to regulate AI.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who represents Pennsylvania, on Wednesday dismissed the proposed moratorium, calling it “China First”.
“The rising chassis of AI have to be constructed by America. We will put acceptable guardrails in place with out handing the win on AI to China,” Fetterman mentioned.
US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has championed a light-touch strategy to regulating AI, final week launched a long-awaited nationwide AI framework that laid out suggestions for laws on the nationwide stage.
The four-page doc known as on lawmakers to take away boundaries to innovation and speed up the deployment of AI, whereas implementing measures to guard youngsters, management electrical energy costs, and uphold mental property rights and freedom of speech.
