Will Lawrence rolls out plan for regulating Big Tech, data centers in Michigan and beyond

Filed 1h ago · Via Michigan Advance · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Comic Hero

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Alfred Crowquill (Alfred Henry Forrester); engraved by James · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Democratic congressional candidate William Lawrence unveiled a plan called “Stop Tech Overreach” targeting data centers and AI development in Michigan's 7th District, calling for a federal moratorium, environmental protections, AI safety rules, and a jobs program funded by taxing AI industry profits.

Lawrence has attacked opponent Tom Barrett for backing a House measure that would bar states from regulating AI for a decade. Barrett's campaign says the two agree on the need for federal guardrails but differ sharply on whether Washington should override local zoning decisions over data centers.

Barrett has co-sponsored bills limiting AI in medical determinations and requiring age verification for chatbots, according to his campaign, though neither candidate's plan has been tested against an actual data center fight yet.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Every candidate this cycle has discovered AI is a fine thing to be against, the way everybody's against potholes. The real argument here isn't over whether robots might eat your job, it's over who gets to zone the warehouse that houses them, and that fight is a lot more local and a lot less dramatic than either campaign's press release lets on.

Source: Read the original at Michigan Advance → Scored: Comic Hero · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

Read it scored.

Every story, every clown, every kazoo — in your pocket. Music plays automatically. Regret is optional.

GET IT ON iOS GET IT ON ANDROID

OR FOLLOW THE DESK ON BLUESKY →