Recent proposals look to address data center concerns and establish grant programs to bolster students and educators’ AI and data science skills. #
Guiding data center development
A new legislative package looks to address government management of data center construction amid artificial intelligence-motivated demands for increased compute capacity. The National Data Center Plan, introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., is composed of four distinct bills that address different concerns surrounding data center construction.
The first, the Responsible Data Center Siting Act, directs the Energy secretary to create best practices for choosing sites for new data centers, taking issues like energy availability, noise pollution, workforce needs and water and electricity use into account.
The second, the Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act, also focuses on resource usage and asks the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop technical standards for accurately measuring data center energy and water use.
The third, the Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act, requires leadership from both the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to collaborate with the Defense secretary in developing a defense strategy to protect communities living near data centers. The strategy will also address how to protect the U.S. data infrastructures from adversaries.
The final bill, the Data Center Fair Share Act, requires data centers and large energy consumers to pay the full cost of grid upgrades needed to handle growing compute loads. The bill would call for states to adopt large-load tariffs to ensure that data centers pay for the amount of power they consume.
“People are concerned about the future of our community and angry about the impact this will have on noise, the environment, and their property,” Subramanyam said in a press release. “The approach to building data centers has been driven by short-term profit rather than long term planning. We need a national plan that puts communities first rather than the current ad hoc approach.”
Creating AI labs at K-12 schools
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., officially introduced a measure on Tuesday that seeks to create dedicated artificial intelligence labs at K-12 schools to help students and educators better use and understand the emerging capabilities.
The bill calls for the Education Department to establish a new federal grant program — or direct resources from other existing grants — to help develop the labs and study how the provided funds are used to guide future education-focused AI investments.
Gottheimer’s proposal was introduced amid the launch of his “Back-to-School Agenda on AI and Screen Time in K-12 Education,” which he said is designed to enhance the next generation’s technology literacy.
“AI can be a powerful tool, but it can never replace the fundamentals,” he said in a statement. “Give our schools the tools. Give our teachers the training. And give our children a real head start, instead of a false choice between banning technology outright and drowning in it.”
Preparing students for a data-driven future
A bipartisan quartet of House lawmakers rolled out a measure on Thursday that seeks to bolster data science educational opportunities for educators and students from pre-K to community college.
The Data Science and Literacy Act — introduced by Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Baird, R-Ind., Don Beyer, D-Va., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. — would establish a grant program within the Education Department to fund the creation of data science-focused curricula, student support opportunities, professional development training and education partnership opportunities.
“Data is powering the technologies and jobs that will define America’s economic future, and our students deserve the skills to lead that future,” Stevens said in a statement. “Whether a student goes on to work on the factory floor, in a research lab, at a small business, or developing the next breakthrough technology, the ability to understand and use data will be increasingly important.”