This election’s biggest AI story isn’t about data centers

The article argues that the election’s most consequential AI development may be the success of candidates who want to regulate AI itself, rather than campaigns focused on data centres. Opposition to data centres has brought AI concerns to voters, but blocking individual sites would mainly slow expansion and would not address the technology’s wider risks.

It says newly elected Democrats have called for action on issues including cyber attacks, job losses, concentrated power and misuse of AI. Michigan Senate winner Abdul El-Sayed, for example, has proposed pausing frontier AI research, international coordination and a federal safety agency, though the article notes some proposals are disputed. The results give advocates more scope to pursue laws and hearings, but the challenge is turning voter concern about data centres into broader support for AI safety.