Bernie Sanders has a plan to stop the AI industry

[swka]

Looks like there are progress on that front. Hope cooler heads will survive


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is getting serious about AI.

“In my view, and in the view of people who know a lot more about this issue than I do, we are in the beginning of the most profound technological revolution in world history,” Sanders said at a March 25 press conference. “Artificial intelligence and robotics will impact our economy, our democracy, our privacy rights, our emotional well-being, and even our very survival as human beings on this planet.”

In response, Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill to ban data center construction “until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation.”



Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on March 25, the day they proposed a national moratorium on data center construction. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Many Americans share their AI skepticism. One recent NBC survey found that only 26% of Americans had a positive impression of AI, while 46% were negative.

There’s a potential here to build an anti-AI movement that could be a political juggernaut.

Bernie Sanders has a plan to stop the AI industry

But it will be hard to assemble a broad coalition of AI skeptics.

www.understandingai.org

 

[blueone]

Looks like there are progress on that front. Hope cooler heads will survive

Bernie Sanders has a plan to stop the AI industry

But it will be hard to assemble a broad coalition of AI skeptics.

www.understandingai.org

Sanders is an idiot.

 

[Brady]

Sanders is no idiot, but he is acting as a politician here. There’s real fear and anger at AI’s impact on the job market, the environment, on people’s energy prices, and this is a politician’s take on showing people he’s being tough on it.

This forum is an echo chamber of smart people who work in industry. There’s bias, there’s vested interest. Don’t forget it’s a very small minority compared to the general populace.

Maybe we can have a better discussion on this topic than something as trite as “he’s an idiot”, so let me start:

How does a country like the USA, during a foreign war that is spiking energy prices, continue to drive many GW of power into data centers in order for the industry to compete on the global stage (against primarily China) when we don’t have the money or the time to spin up the necessary power and water to run them? Do we just let Musk build and operate unregulated methane generators 24/7 and figure it out later like he’s doing for xAI’s Colossus DC?

I’d rather we have better infrastructure discussions than just halting construction as proposed, but this stuff has serious negative impacts on the country. It’s a rational discussion to be had if we don’t be intellectually lazy about it.

 

[blueone]

Sanders is no idiot, but he is acting as a politician here. There’s real fear and anger at AI’s impact on the job market, the environment, on people’s energy prices, and this is a politician’s take on showing people he’s being tough on it.

I stand by my comment. Sanders is an avowed socialist who advocates socialism as a better economic system than capitalism, and writes books about it. That's how he made his modest millions. (Not corruption, as some other idiots contend.) Sanders is in favor of wealth taxes for those wealthier than himself, and taxing unrealized capital gains (though other than his three homes, he claims not to hold equity assets). Taxing unrealized gains has got to be the worst economic policy ever conceived in the US, and he strongly favors it.

Sanders demonizes US billionaires, some which of which are the most productive and innovative individuals in the history of the world, and create millions of jobs and trillions in wealth. For example, the last statistic I've seen is that 50% of Nvidia's employees have a net worth of over $25 million.

Nvidia Is Producing 'Unprecedented Wealth' For Its Employees, Nearly 80% Are Already Millionaires: Report

As Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) continues to dominate the AI race and stock market, a new report says that the wealth created inside the company has reached stunning levels. Jensen Huang-Led Nvidia Staff Are Riding A Wealth Wave On Monday, in a post ...

finance.yahoo.com

His demonization of the US economic system and those who have made it so successful, and advocating socialism and the overt redistribution of wealth over capitalism is in my opinion economic idiocy.

This forum is an echo chamber of smart people who work in industry. There’s bias, there’s vested interest. Don’t forget it’s a very small minority compared to the general populace.

Maybe we can have a better discussion on this topic than something as trite as “he’s an idiot”, so let me start:

How does a country like the USA, during a foreign war that is spiking energy prices, continue to drive many GW of power into data centers in order for the industry to compete on the global stage (against primarily China) when we don’t have the money or the time to spin up the necessary power and water to run them? Do we just let Musk build and operate unregulated methane generators 24/7 and figure it out later like he’s doing for xAI’s Colossus DC?

Musk is doing what's necessary to succeed. So is China. China *added* 78GW of coal-fueled generation plants in 2025 alone. Musk's gas-powered generators are an almost invisible factor carbon-wise compared to even one of China's coal plants. It is mathematical fraud to compare the use of a bunch of gas turbines with what's happening on the other hemisphere when what's happening to the earth's atmosphere is a global phenomenon, not a local issue.

Electrical consumption in the US was flat for many years, which meant there wasn't much incentive to invest in power generation or transmission. Now, due to AI data centers, there is. That fact alone will naturally increase investment. How electrical rates are adjusted are local issues, and not a national issue. And NEPA, the 1970 federal law which allowed virtually unlimited frivolous lawsuits to block infrastructure projects, especially transmission lines, has been recently limited in scope by the Supreme Court, making it less effective for use by individuals and groups which simply seek to stop development of any kind.

Supreme Court Issues First Major NEPA Ruling in Two Decades

Requires Courts to Give Substantial Deference to Federal Agencies’ NEPA Reviews

bbklaw.com

The SC ruling on NEPA alone will be an effective assist for the development of US electrical infrastructure.

I have high hopes to how the US will react to increasing the capacity of the electrical grid, especially if we get off our national butt and focus on nuclear power generation development.

I’d rather we have better infrastructure discussions than just halting construction as proposed, but this stuff has serious negative impacts on the country. It’s a rational discussion to be had if we don’t be intellectually lazy about it.

I am not intellectually lazy, but Sanders does indeed meet my definition of a congressional leadership idiot. End of story. I can't think of even one policy he advocates that is IMO in the best interest of the advancement of the US as a nation.

 

[swka]

I stand by my comment. Sanders is an avowed socialist who advocates socialism as a better economic system than capitalism, and writes books about it. That's how he made his modest millions. (Not corruption, as some other idiots contend.) Sanders is in favor of wealth taxes for those wealthier than himself, and taxing unrealized capital gains (though other than his three homes, he claims not to hold equity assets). Taxing unrealized gains has got to be the worst economic policy ever conceived in the US, and he strongly favors it.

Sanders demonizes US billionaires, some which of which are the most productive and innovative individuals in the history of the world, and create millions of jobs and trillions in wealth. For example, the last statistic I've seen is that 50% of Nvidia's employees have a net worth of over $25 million.

Nvidia Is Producing 'Unprecedented Wealth' For Its Employees, Nearly 80% Are Already Millionaires: Report

As Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) continues to dominate the AI race and stock market, a new report says that the wealth created inside the company has reached stunning levels. Jensen Huang-Led Nvidia Staff Are Riding A Wealth Wave On Monday, in a post ...

finance.yahoo.com

His demonization of the US economic system and those who have made it so successful, and advocating socialism and the overt redistribution of wealth over capitalism is in my opinion economic idiocy.

Musk is doing what's necessary to succeed. So is China. China *added* 78GW of coal-fueled generation plants in 2025 alone. Musk's gas-powered generators are an almost invisible factor carbon-wise compared to even one of China's coal plants. It is mathematical fraud to compare the use of a bunch of gas turbines with what's happening on the other hemisphere when what's happening to the earth's atmosphere is a global phenomenon, not a local issue.

Electrical consumption in the US was flat for many years, which meant there wasn't much incentive to invest in power generation or transmission. Now, due to AI data centers, there is. That fact alone will naturally increase investment. How electrical rates are adjusted are local issues, and not a national issue. And NEPA, the 1970 federal law which allowed virtually unlimited frivolous lawsuits to block infrastructure projects, especially transmission lines, has been recently limited in scope by the Supreme Court, making it less effective for use by individuals and groups which simply seek to stop development of any kind.

Supreme Court Issues First Major NEPA Ruling in Two Decades

Requires Courts to Give Substantial Deference to Federal Agencies’ NEPA Reviews

bbklaw.com

The SC ruling on NEPA alone will be an effective assist for the development of US electrical infrastructure.

I have high hopes to how the US will react to increasing the capacity of the electrical grid, especially if we get off our national butt and focus on nuclear power generation development.

I am not intellectually lazy, but Sanders does indeed meet my definition of a congressional leadership idiot. End of story. I can't think of even one policy he advocates that is IMO in the best interest of the advancement of the US as a nation.

to me, someone in the public for so long, Bernie is either "stupid or liar" when he simply pushes for halting DC, knowing full well what has bene happening in the world of technology competition. I guess the afore mentioned him being politician is just another way to say liar.

 

[Brady]

I think he’s doing the rounds on this proposal now, and here’s a new video on the topic with a prominent creator:

My understanding is that he’s using this as the start of a negotiating position on the idea of slowing down the AI rush so that people (governments, job markets, and you and me) can catch up with its impacts.

 

[blueone]

I think he’s doing the rounds on this proposal now, and here’s a new video on the topic with a prominent creator:

My understanding is that he’s using this as the start of a negotiating position on the idea of slowing down the AI rush so that people (governments, job markets, and you and me) can catch up with its impacts.

And I'm totally against "slowing down and catching up". The US has many competent competitors in the world, and while we're contemplating our navels, China, Japan, and various Euro countries will probably be doing whatever is necessary to get a competitive advantage.

 

[Barnsley]

I stand by my comment. Sanders is an avowed socialist who advocates socialism as a better economic system than capitalism, and writes books about it. That's how he made his modest millions. (Not corruption, as some other idiots contend.) Sanders is in favor of wealth taxes for those wealthier than himself, and taxing unrealized capital gains (though other than his three homes, he claims not to hold equity assets). Taxing unrealized gains has got to be the worst economic policy ever conceived in the US, and he strongly favors it.

Sanders demonizes US billionaires, some which of which are the most productive and innovative individuals in the history of the world, and create millions of jobs and trillions in wealth. For example, the last statistic I've seen is that 50% of Nvidia's employees have a net worth of over $25 million.

Nvidia Is Producing 'Unprecedented Wealth' For Its Employees, Nearly 80% Are Already Millionaires: Report

As Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) continues to dominate the AI race and stock market, a new report says that the wealth created inside the company has reached stunning levels. Jensen Huang-Led Nvidia Staff Are Riding A Wealth Wave On Monday, in a post ...

finance.yahoo.com

His demonization of the US economic system and those who have made it so successful, and advocating socialism and the overt redistribution of wealth over capitalism is in my opinion economic idiocy.

Musk is doing what's necessary to succeed. So is China. China *added* 78GW of coal-fueled generation plants in 2025 alone. Musk's gas-powered generators are an almost invisible factor carbon-wise compared to even one of China's coal plants. It is mathematical fraud to compare the use of a bunch of gas turbines with what's happening on the other hemisphere when what's happening to the earth's atmosphere is a global phenomenon, not a local issue.

Electrical consumption in the US was flat for many years, which meant there wasn't much incentive to invest in power generation or transmission. Now, due to AI data centers, there is. That fact alone will naturally increase investment. How electrical rates are adjusted are local issues, and not a national issue. And NEPA, the 1970 federal law which allowed virtually unlimited frivolous lawsuits to block infrastructure projects, especially transmission lines, has been recently limited in scope by the Supreme Court, making it less effective for use by individuals and groups which simply seek to stop development of any kind.

Supreme Court Issues First Major NEPA Ruling in Two Decades

Requires Courts to Give Substantial Deference to Federal Agencies’ NEPA Reviews

bbklaw.com

The SC ruling on NEPA alone will be an effective assist for the development of US electrical infrastructure.

I have high hopes to how the US will react to increasing the capacity of the electrical grid, especially if we get off our national butt and focus on nuclear power generation development.

I am not intellectually lazy, but Sanders does indeed meet my definition of a congressional leadership idiot. End of story. I can't think of even one policy he advocates that is IMO in the best interest of the advancement of the US as a nation.

Can say what you mean?

 

[Xebec]

I have high hopes to how the US will react to increasing the capacity of the electrical grid, especially if we get off our national butt and focus on nuclear power generation development.

Jensen Huang shared a recommendation recently: (Paraphrasing) The US electric grid has a lot of unusable energy embedded in those energy production numbers. The US grid is sized for "peak" demand, the 1-2 days a year where it's extra cold or hot and other conditions apply that drive demand much higher than normal. He recommended a framework between data centers and power delivery companies for scaling down DC needs during those peak times, allowing more overall usage during the other 99% of the time.

Source:

(47:30 for conversation)

(Musk has also pointed out that "MegaPacks" and similar industrial scale batteries can unlock a lot more effective grid capacity, potentially 2-3X - regardless of the energy source.)

I agree we still need more nuclear (way better than fossil fuels IMO), but these could be quicker interim solutions.

 

[Xebec]

I think he’s doing the rounds on this proposal now, and here’s a new video on the topic with a prominent creator:

My understanding is that he’s using this as the start of a negotiating position on the idea of slowing down the AI rush so that people (governments, job markets, and you and me) can catch up with its impacts.

A thought experiment here -

The US was wildly successful in largely becoming the center of the world for all things Internet - thanks to low regulation and a government that was friendly to "let it happen", relatively speaking. That's created immense amounts of jobs and wealth for Americans, not to mention doesn't put us on the back foot for a lot of internet services. We already have "domestic security" largely for applications and systems.

By contrast, some of the reason the US is feeling naked at the moment with regards to on-shore semiconductor production is because environmental laws pushed a lot of early fabs out of the USA, especially in California. I know we still have some capacity here, but a lot of the supply chain moved with those early fabs closing due to EPA reasons. Ironically, the locations that picked up the fabs probably contributed more net damage to the global environment than if they had stayed in the US but were mandated to slowly phase in greener methods of production. Now that we've figured out "green fabs" (water neutral, etc.) - we are working feverishly to bring back capacity (and jobs, though minor amounts) that went overseas.

AI has the same potential to swing either way, not to mention the knock on effect of +/- productivity for every US worker in every field.

..

(OT - but pollution is both a global and a local problem; but when considering it - either globally or locally - the net effect of what is being produced needs to be considered. Musk's methane turbines are powering computers working on self-driving cars -- a technology that has been shown to save lives, and improve the quality of others -- especially elderly. There's no truly easy answer here -- but unfortunately politicians like Bernie know that simple slogans capture minds when the reality is more complex -- and the truth is not something that can be done justice in a single sentence or word).

 

[blueone]

Can say what you mean?

I'm sorry, I've become too politically correct after I retired and in my old age. In the future I'll try to post more direct and blatant opinions, and make my positions more obvious and direct.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Sanders is an idiot.

For his age I suppose he is doing well but he is almost 85 years old. I would not let him drive a car much less write federal laws.

I have been actively using AI for 2+ years. We integrated OpenAI with SemiWiki more than a year ago. I use AI for personal and professional activities yet I still have a lot to learn. I can't imagine Bernie has any personal experience with AI but he has constituents who do. Donors most likely. I don't hate Bernie as much as I do politics but he is part of that problem.

 

[blueone]

For his age I suppose he is doing well but he is almost 85 years old. I would not let him drive a car much less write federal laws.

Every time I see a photo of Sanders in the press, he seems to be yelling "Get off my lawn!!"

I have been actively using AI for 2+ years. We integrated OpenAI with SemiWiki more than a year ago. I use AI for personal and professional activities yet I still have a lot to learn. I can't imagine Bernie has any personal experience with AI but he has constituents who do. Donors most likely. I don't hate Bernie as much as I do politics but he is part of that problem.

We can't change politics fundamentally, but we can change the people we elect.

 

[blueone]

...some of the reason the US is feeling naked at the moment with regards to on-shore semiconductor production is because environmental laws pushed a lot of early fabs out of the USA, especially in California. I know we still have some capacity here, but a lot of the supply chain moved with those early fabs closing due to EPA reasons. Ironically, the locations that picked up the fabs probably contributed more net damage to the global environment than if they had stayed in the US but were mandated to slowly phase in greener methods of production. Now that we've figured out "green fabs" (water neutral, etc.) - we are working feverishly to bring back capacity (and jobs, though minor amounts) that went overseas.

Well said.

(OT - but pollution is both a global and a local problem; but when considering it - either globally or locally - the net effect of what is being produced needs to be considered. Musk's methane turbines are powering computers working on self-driving cars -- a technology that has been shown to save lives, and improve the quality of others -- especially elderly. There's no truly easy answer here -- but unfortunately politicians like Bernie know that simple slogans capture minds when the reality is more complex -- and the truth is not something that can be done justice in a single sentence or word).

I agree.

 

[horace]

Sanders is a Chinese undercover agent.

US stop building AI data center, China will win the AI arm race.

Oh. I got it. That's Sanders plan, if Communist China rules the world, that how he brings communism to US through the front door.

Maybe he is not an undercover agent, he truly believe in that's how he can archive his communism dream.

 

[SteelWodie]

Looks like there are progress on that front. Hope cooler heads will survive


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is getting serious about AI.

“In my view, and in the view of people who know a lot more about this issue than I do, we are in the beginning of the most profound technological revolution in world history,” Sanders said at a March 25 press conference. “Artificial intelligence and robotics will impact our economy, our democracy, our privacy rights, our emotional well-being, and even our very survival as human beings on this planet.”

In response, Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill to ban data center construction “until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation.”


Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on March 25, the day they proposed a national moratorium on data center construction. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Many Americans share their AI skepticism. One recent NBC survey found that only 26% of Americans had a positive impression of AI, while 46% were negative.

There’s a potential here to build an anti-AI movement that could be a political juggernaut.

Bernie Sanders has a plan to stop the AI industry

But it will be hard to assemble a broad coalition of AI skeptics.

www.understandingai.org

what an idiot

 

[Barnsley]

Sanders is a Chinese undercover agent.

US stop building AI data center, China will win the AI arm race.

Oh. I got it. That's Sanders plan, if Communist China rules the world, that how he brings communism to US through the front door.

Maybe he is not an undercover agent, he truly believe in that's how he can archive his communism dream.

Do you know what Communism means?

I see a lot of Americans talk about Communism without really thinking about.

It is very odd to see from the outside.

My personal favourite was the guy who said making it illegal to drink and drive was communism.

 

[Barnsley]

what an idiot

So your saying there isnt a seachange in the use of technology coming?

Did you create a new account to post this?