Politicians sign pact demanding data-center and AI safety

Dan Osborn finished his fourth campaign meeting on Sunday, saying a “hardcore MAGA” supporter approached him. Osborn, running as an independent for the Senate in Nebraska against incumbent Republican Pete Ricketts, says the two found no common ground until he asked about data centers and artificial intelligence. “We were instantly 100% synchronized,” he says. The moment reflects a broader trend: candidates across the United States have signed an “AI pact,” a five-commitment document intended to set a basic floor for regulation of computing infrastructure and the models themselves.

The initiative is led by the Political Integrity Project, an organization that fights big money in politics. One of its founders, Daniel Lobo-Lewis, explains the clauses were drafted after consultations with AI safety organizations and legislative bodies. Funding comes from a progressive Political Action Committee (PAC), and, according to him, no AI-safety organization or tech company funds the effort directly. The five requirements include mandatory safety reviews for models, a policy for an “AI dividend” to workers, a right of action for consumers and companies over model harms, and bans on tax breaks, dark deals and excessive energy consumption for data centers.

The wording deliberately avoids calling for a total freeze on data-center construction. Lobo-Lewis calls it a “floor,” a minimal threshold that candidates with strong labor-union ties can meet. Several unions have already reaffirmed support for building these facilities, creating tension within the movement. Most signatories are Democrats, with Osborn the lone Republican. Among them are Justin Pearson of Tennessee, who gained attention fighting data-center pollution from SpaceX, and Will Lawrence of Michigan, who won a crowded primary in a district where opposition to data centers is a hot issue.

Alexander McCoy, a progressive AI strategist, points to the trap facing swing-district candidates: “Some of them don’t necessarily want to say no to the possibility that a data-center project will help that,” he says. “On the other hand, AI is expected to be extremely disruptive unless protective fences are erected. So is it worth creating construction jobs now at the expense of destroying opportunities for other workers in the district?”

Osborn, a former Navy sailor and organized-labor leader, says data centers bring “a lot of infrastructure and a lot of jobs.” He is campaigning in rural areas where farmers fear losing land to development and stresses that Congress must intervene with regulation. “We have to do it right,” he says. “Calling for a pause now doesn’t seem like a terrible idea.” The position is gaining traction across the political spectrum: in recent weeks governors who previously championed data-center development, such as Democrat Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Republicans in Texas, are beginning to soften their tone.