More than 15 candidates sign AI Pact focused on data centers and AI safety

In short: A group of US political candidates is signing the AI Pact, a pledge to push for stronger rules on data centers and artificial intelligence.

What happened

More than 15 politicians running for office in different states have signed the AI Pact, according to WIRED. The pledge includes five promises about regulating data centers and AI.

Data centers are large buildings packed with computers that power online services and many AI systems. Voters in several places have raised concerns about their energy use, environmental effects, and how deals to build them can happen with little public input.

One signer is Dan Osborn, an independent candidate for US Senate in Nebraska running against Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts. Osborn told WIRED that concerns about AI and data centers can cross party lines, and he said, “We’ve got to get this right.”

The AI Pact is linked to the Political Integrity Project, a group focused on money in politics. A founder, Daniel Lobo-Lewis, said the pact is funded by a progressive political action committee, and that AI safety groups and tech companies are not directly funding it.

The pledge does not call for a full stop on new data centers. Instead, it backs policies to ban tax breaks and “backroom deals,” and to curb “excessive energy usage.” It also supports mandatory safety reviews for AI models (like requiring a safety inspection before a new product can be sold), and clearer legal options to sue over harms caused by AI.

Why it matters

Data centers and AI can bring jobs and investment, but they can also raise electricity costs, change land use, and affect privacy and work. This pledge shows that these issues are becoming a bigger part of US campaigns, and could shape what rules get written next.

Source: Wired