AOC and Bernie Sanders want to freeze new AI data center construction until safety and environmental rules are in place, framing it as populism against an industry that's angering voters on both sides.

• The bill would halt building or expanding data centers until protections kick in — federal review of AI products, proof they won't raise local electricity bills, union jobs, no government subsidies, and local veto power over where they go.
• Opposition is huge and bipartisan: 7 in 10 Americans oppose a data center in their area, higher than opposition to nuclear plants has ever been.
• People are enraged that communities vote against these projects and they get built anyway — one Tennessee site is running dozens of house-sized gas turbines that pollute nearby neighborhoods.
• The industry looks like a bubble — the data center companies aren't profitable, and even corporate users say the tools are too expensive to run at scale.
• Bernie also floated a one-time 50% tax on the biggest AI companies' stock to build a $7 trillion public fund, arguing their value came from everyone's data in the first place.

Outlook: The bill faces long odds with a friendly administration for the industry, but expect AI's environmental and job costs to become a 2028 campaign issue.