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US senator Bernie Sanders has once again escalated his criticism of the artificial intelligence boom and has asked for a halt on new AI data center construction. Sanders has also accused the tech billionaires including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates for driving the AI expansion for “dangerous reasons.
” In a video posted on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Sanders warned that AI and robotics are growing faster than the society can adapt. “AI and Robotics are the most transformative technologies in the history of humanity,” he said, cautioning they will affect “every man, woman and child” in the country.Sanders singled out Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Peter Thiel, and other tech leaders, arguing they are pushing AI to consolidate wealth and power rather than protect working families.
“These very, very rich men are not losing sleep over job losses or inequality,” he added.
Job and humanity at risk
Sanders also echoed the warnings from tech leaders that AI could displace millions of jobs. Sanders asked, “If AI and robotics eliminate millions of jobs and create massive unemployment, how will people survive if they have no income?” He also raised concerns about children becoming socially isolated and emotionally dependent on AI instead of human relationships.
Sanders also raised concerns about AI’s impact on human relationships, noting that teenagers increasingly rely on AI companions. “If kids today have AI as their best friends… what kind of change does that mean for humanity?”Sanders also warned about the cooperation between AI companies and the U.S. military could erode privacy. “How far away are we from a small number of people having access to the email that you’ve sent out, every phone call that you’ve been on, really every aspect of your life? We’re not far.”
Electricity-hungry data centers
Sanders’ moratorium call zeroes in on the massive electricity demands of AI infrastructure.
- He noted Meta’s planned Louisiana facility could consume three times more power than New Orleans.
- A Texas project tied to OpenAI and Oracle could use electricity equivalent to 750,000 homes.
- Another Meta site could match the needs of 1.2 million households.
Experts estimate data centers already account for 5% of U.S. electricity use, a figure expected to rise sharply as AI adoption accelerates. Sanders warned taxpayers could ultimately bear the burden of subsidizing these projects.
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