In a rare political scene within the United States, figures standing on opposite sides ideologically found themselves in one trench against the Donald Trump administration’s policy on the artificial intelligence file, after Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist and one of the most prominent faces of the conservative populist right, announced his support for an initiative led by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to freeze the construction of new data centers.
According to a report by journalist Eli Leon in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, citing the Wall Street Journal, the new front being formed in Washington brings together Bannon with the leaders of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, led by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, around one issue that has now transcended traditional alignments: confronting the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the giant server farms that are being built across the United States.
According to the report, Bannon provides full support for a legislative initiative led by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, which aims to impose a freeze on the construction of new data centers.
Bannon said in an interview that he has put aside deep differences on issues such as immigration, out of his belief that artificial intelligence is the issue that will determine humanity’s future.
He indicated that he currently devotes about 75% of his time to confronting the expansion of this technology, and working to mobilize popular support against the Trump administration’s policy, which encourages providing facilities for the technology sector and prohibits states from imposing their own independent regulations.
Bannon’s new position puts one of Trump’s most prominent former allies in direct confrontation with the US President, who had recently said on social media that societies that oppose the establishment of data centers “simply want to remain backward and poor.”
However, the scene on the ground, according to the report, reflects an escalation in public concern about the impacts associated with server farms, especially due to their consumption of huge amounts of electricity and water, in addition to fears of job losses and mounting distrust of giant technology companies.
This file has become an example of what is politically known as the “Horseshoe Theory,” where parties from the hard-line right and left converge on a common cause despite the great divergence in their other political positions.
The opposition is no longer confined to public debate, as it has begun to turn to direct electoral and political campaigns.
An examination conducted by the Wall Street Journal showed that the issue of data centers and artificial intelligence was present in more than 70 congressional and gubernatorial races, in addition to at least 50 other local election races.
The impact of the objections reached prominent governors, including Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, who, according to the report, retreated from the enthusiastic support they had previously shown for projects of this type.
In contrast, the unexpected alliance sparked anger within the technology sector and among Trump supporters.
Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir, mocked the convergence and called it “BBC,” a reference to the initials of Bernie, Bannon, and the Chinese Communist Party.
Lonsdale accused the parties of this coalition of being “extremists working to weaken the United States.”
At the same time, Washington is still unable to resolve the issue, while proposals for laws aimed at restricting the sector have not yet reached the implementation stage.
While the legislative debate continues, the confrontation on the ground escalates over the locations of data centers and the energy sources needed to operate them, so that artificial intelligence becomes an electoral file capable of bringing together political opponents who do not have much in common, and putting them together in a single confrontation with Trump’s policy.
