Anti-AI populism is the future of American politics | Garrison Lovely

Democrats should drag Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Elon Musk before the world and make them explain just what it is they’re trying to do and why

The AI industry had a bad night last week.

The Democrats’ sweeping midterms victory is a rebuke of Donald Trump, the industry’s most powerful champion.

Almost everywhere they could, voters rejected datacenters: moratoriums and other restrictions passed in more than 30 localities across nine states. And, with wins in places such as Texas, Ohio and Georgia, an estimated 41% of planned datacenter capacity is in states with governors-elect backing moratoriums.

To be sure, the election results were not primarily about AI. In 2024, Trump ran on lowering prices and starting no new wars, then began a war that raised prices.