Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to put a halt to the multi-trillion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout — at least for now.
In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, the Vermont senator and two-time presidential candidate said he would begin pushing for a national moratorium on the construction of AI data centers.
He argued that AI, which he called one of the most "transformative technologies in the history of humanity," is moving too rapidly for lawmakers and citizens to keep up.
"This moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up with the transformative changes that we are witnessing and make sure that the benefits of these technologies work for all of us, not just the wealthiest people on Earth," Sanders said.
While Sanders is not the only AI critic on Capitol Hill, his planned proposal would go further than most. He is likely the first national politician to call for a moratorium on the construction of data centers, which are the primary infrastructure needed to support the expansion of AI.
Major tech firms like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Apple have collectively spent hundreds of billions of dollars in 2025 on capital expenditures — much of it going toward the chips, servers, and data centers that form the backbone of the AI boom. And they've told investors that they expect to spend even more AI spending in 2026.
"This process is moving very, very quickly, and we need to slow it down," Sanders said. "We need all of our people, all of our people involved in determining the future of AI, and not just a handful of multi-billionaires."
The Democratic socialist senator listed three major reasons for slowing down the advancement of AI: the fact that it's being promoted by wealthy tech titans, the potential for AI-driven job losses, and the technology's impact on human interaction.
"Think for a moment about a future when human beings are not interacting with each other and are spending virtually all of their time with devices instead of people," Sanders said. "Is that the kind of future you want? Well, not me."
At this point, it's unlikely that Sanders's vision comes to fruition.
President Donald Trump's administration has taken the opposite path, encouraging the rapid construction of data centers in a bid to win the AI race with China.
But skepticism of AI is continuing to grow on Capitol Hill, with some lawmakers warning about a potential AI bubble and others aiming to limit minors' use of AI chatbots.
