Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Monday evening that he suspects China is helping finance opposition to artificial intelligence data centers in the United States, even as he argued the country must weigh the real costs to the electrical grid and water supplies without ceding ground in the global race for AI dominance.
Johnson made the comments during a Breitbart News Fight Club Roundtable hosted by Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.
“I would hate to see China win the war on AI. Again, I don’t have the specifics on this. I have a sense that China is funding the opposition to AI centers,” Johnson said.
“Now, at the same time, I think we need to be responsible. We need to look at the demands on the electrical grid. I think demands on water resources are way overstated, but overstated because China is funding the propaganda against these things,” he continued.
Johnson argued the United States cannot afford to fall behind in AI development.
“We need to expose that fact, and then we need the American public to open up their eyes and go, okay, do we really want to handicap ourselves? Do we really want to lose the race to AI again, and this is with all the trepidation of what is AI going to create?” Johnson said.
Jobs, Workers, and AI’s Economic Effects
Johnson downplayed fears that AI will displace American workers, drawing a comparison to the mechanization of agriculture over the past century.
“I’m far less concerned about AI replacing jobs. Take a look at America 100 years ago, and we’re an agricultural economy, and you had way more than 50 percent of the American population or working Americans providing food. Now it is single digits. That’s a good thing. I mean, all those farmers lost jobs, but they’re doing other things,” he said.
“Right now, we don’t have enough workers. Our biggest problem isn’t trade or trade deficits. We don’t have workers, so, you know, AI will free up and will have more workers producing things,” Johnson added.
Wariness of Unchecked AI and Big Tech
Despite his optimism about AI’s economic potential, Johnson voiced concern about the technology spiraling out of control without clear rules governing artificial general intelligence.
“I’m concerned about out-of-control AI. Who is going to provide general intelligence the rules, so they don’t destroy the human race? I’m a big reader of science fiction, and Isaac Asimov had three basic commandments for robotics. We need something like that. But who’s doing it?” he said.
Johnson said he does not trust technology companies to police themselves, citing the fallout from social media.
“Now, I don’t have faith in these kids who are running these AI companies — they’re the same ones that unleash social media on us, to many benefits, to great benefits, but also a great deal of harm to people as well,” Johnson said. “Because, again, they want to make a buck. Nothing wrong with that, but this is where I actually do need government.”
“You need responsible people making sure that we have basic laws so that generalized intelligence doesn’t destroy the human race,” Johnson continued. “That’s what worries me. Not AI centers, not data centers.”
He closed by returning to the infrastructure question, saying he wants the country to be mindful of strain on the electrical grid and water resources, while maintaining his view that such concerns are frequently exaggerated.
“I want to be very aware of how we are impacting our electrical grid and the impact on water resources. But again, I think that’s largely overstated,” Johnson said.
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