*Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where the congressional candidates respond to a question in 100 words or less. Answers are published every Monday. *
CA-11, the congressional district that Connie Chan and Scott Wiener are running to represent includes most of San Francisco. Some southern neighborhoods (the Excelsior, Portola, Visitacion Valley and Ingleside) are a part of a neighboring district.
Many voters in San Francisco, and across the country, have concerns about AI. It is replacing people’s jobs and could be used for nefarious purposes. Plus, it’s also behind a massive expansion of data centers, which people oppose because the centers can be noisy for nearby residents, increase the cost of electricity, and hurt the environment because of the large amounts of power and water they require.
Because of these concerns, grassroots pushback across the state — and the country — has already caused some data center plans to be shelved. Now, some politicians are calling for a nationwide data center moratorium, which would halt construction of large, AI-focused data centers across the United States until concerns about AI’s economic, environmental, and safety impacts have been addressed.
But other politicians are opposed to a moratorium, citing, among other reasons, that it would hamstring efforts by U.S.-based AI labs to continue developing cutting-edge models, allowing AI labs in countries like China and the United Kingdom to develop improved models first.
Both State Sen. Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan have expressed a desire to regulate AI at past debates and in their platforms. But they have different views on a national data center moratorium — State Sen. Scott Wiener opposes it, while Supervisor Connie Chan supports it.
This week, we asked the candidates to explain the reasoning behind their stance on a data center moratorium, color coding their answers according to that issue. We also asked: Do you think that ensuring American AI labs stay on the cutting edge globally should be a top consideration when writing AI regulations?
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A green background means the candidate answered yes, a red background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.
Scott Wiener
Job: San Francisco’s State Senator** Age**: 56** Residency**: Homeowner, moved to San Francisco in 1997** Transportation**: Public transit and walking** Education**: Bachelor’s degree from Duke, law degree from Harvard** Languages**: English, Spanish
We should avoid hampering technological progress unnecessarily, but we must not repeat the mistakes of social media and data privacy, where we allowed a technology to go completely unregulated, thus harming the public. I’m the only candidate in this race who’s shown the ability and determination to take on Big Tech and pass real regulation with my AI safety law.
We must avoid a data center Wild West, where they locate in inappropriate locations and raise electric bills. However, a blanket data center moratorium could undermine AI regulation.
AI companies will — and already are — building data centers overseas, which removes potential leverage.
See Wiener’s full answer here.
Endorsed by: The California Democratic Party, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sierra Club, San Francisco YIMBY, Grow SF, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, North Coast States Carpenters Union, Dolores Huerta … read more here.
Connie Chan
Job: San Francisco District 1 Supervisor** Age**: 47** Residency**: Homeowner, has lived in San Francisco since she was 13** Transportation**: Driving, public transit, and walking** Education**: Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis** Languages**: English, Cantonese, Mandarin
America can lead the world in AI without asking working people and communities to bear the costs of that leadership.
That’s why I’m fighting for a nationwide data center moratorium until Congress establishes comprehensive rules governing the economic, environmental, and safety impacts of AI. And I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race to sign the AI Pact, which pledges a people-first approach to AI and accountability for the companies developing and deploying it.
We also cannot allow politicians to claim they support AI regulation while being bankrolled by Big Tech billionaires and corporate special interests.
See Chan’s full answer here.
Endorsed by: Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Congressman Ro Khanna, California Federation of Labor Unions, SEIU California, San Francisco Labor Council,Working Families Party, San Francisco Tenant’s Union … read more here.
*Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at io@missionlocal.com or yujie@missionlocal.com. *
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.