Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez propose moratorium on new AI data centers

Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act on March 25, 2026, a bill that would halt construction of new data centers until Congress enacted protections against the dangers of artificial intelligence. Sanders’ office said the proposal was meant to create a reasonable pause in AI development and ensure the safety of humanity.

The measure would put the brake on one of the fastest-growing parts of the AI economy by blocking new buildouts rather than regulating software alone. Sanders’ office said the push came amid an unprecedented energy crisis and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, turning the debate from abstract warnings about machine intelligence into a fight over concrete power demand, land use and the pace of capital investment.

Sanders has tied that pause to a broader argument that AI is already a threat to workers. In a video posted October 7, 2025, he warned that AI and robotics developed by multi-billionaires could help corporate America wipe out tens of millions of decent-paying jobs. A month earlier, his Senate HELP staff released a report titled The Big Tech Oligarchs’ War Against Workers: AI and Automation Could Destroy Nearly 100 Million U.S Jobs in a Decade. That report said productivity had risen by 150% and corporate profits by more than 370% since 1973, while real wages had fallen for the average American worker.

In Sanders’ section-by-section summary of the moratorium bill, he said leading experts and industry leaders had already warned about catastrophic consequences from unchecked AI development and deployment. The summary cited Elon Musk, who said AI and robots would replace all jobs and compared AI to “summoning the demon,” and Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, who predicted that AI could displace half of all entry-level jobs.

The moratorium fits a larger push from Sanders to assert more public control over the industry’s gains. He has also proposed giving the public a 50% ownership stake in large AI companies through the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, extending his argument that the economic rewards from automation should not stay concentrated in corporate hands while the risks spread across the labor market.