Regulate AI & Massive Data Centers

East Tennessee’s resources, from water to land to electricity, should benefit our communities, not billionaires and their massive corporations. 

I will fight to protect our economy, our local infrastructure, and our environment. 

Let's be clear about what we're not talking about: East Tennessee already has data centers that serve as normal IT infrastructure, keeping patient records safe for area hospitals, transactions secure for local banks, and storing records for regional companies. These centers that use about as much electricity as large grocery stores and employ our neighbors aren’t the problem. 

What I am focused on: 

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution should serve our entire economy, not just the richest among us. AI can bring innovation and increase productivity across sectors. But AI job displacement now and in the future is a real risk. This would put hard-working people out of jobs, while sending even more profits to the ultra-rich. 

AI also relies on data centers that strain our power grids, increase our utility rates, and threaten our environment. Developers and hyperscalers are investing in AI at record rates. Benefits from these innovations are being concentrated at the top while the rest of us bear the costs, from jobs being automated to our local infrastructure being strained and us footing the bill.  

AI will shape our economy and our environment for decades to come. 

That’s why I will fight to regulate data centers and AI and protect our privacy, natural resources, and wellbeing.

What I’ll work for in Congress to fix it:

• Protect cities’ and states’ rights to regulate and ban data centers 

• Impose strict regulations on data centers to safeguard East Tennessee’s resources including our water, environment, and electricity from greedy corporations

• Require AI companies and data centers to pay their fair share for energy, water, and utilities to keep our costs low

• Incentivize investments in workers, not jobs-displacing technologies

• Fund workforce development programs to help protect Americans from jobs displacement caused by AI

• Investigate and reduce AI bias by creating algorithmic transparency in order to protect Americans’ civil rights

• Mitigate AI risks to safety and privacy by regulating AI use in high-stakes spaces like healthcare, and social media, particularly for children

• Fund research on the impact of AI on the workforce, the environment, and our society