Gate News reports that on March 26, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) recently proposed taxing data centers that drive AI development, with the revenue used to support workers affected by AI, including funding nurse training and AI skills enhancement programs, to ensure communities benefit from data center construction.
Regarding the background, entry-level job recruitment in the U.S. has decreased by 35% since 2023, with many law firms and tech companies reducing hiring due to AI capable of handling entry-level tasks. Warner stated that the panic over AI-related unemployment “is obvious,” and public resistance to data centers is also growing—latest polls show 46% of voters hold negative views on AI, and Virginia has even proposed abolishing tax incentives for data centers.
Warner explicitly opposes the “Data Center Construction Pause” bill jointly proposed by Senator Sanders and Representative Ocasio-Cortez, believing it would give China an advantage in AI competition, but emphasizes that the data center industry has a responsibility to “pay the bill” for community transformation. The relevant legislation has not yet been formally introduced.