September 21
On July 11, 2023, Bill Gates published “The risks of AI are real but manageable. The world has learned a lot about handling problems caused by breakthrough innovations.”
In the article he lists the many advances for solving problems—in health, education, climate change, and more. He also addressed the risks involved. And most importantly he wrote, “We’ll need to adapt old laws and adopt new ones—just as existing laws against fraud had to be tailored to the online world.”
That is exactly what happened On November 1, 2023. Executive Order 14110 was created by the Office of the President who wrote, “My Administration places the highest urgency on governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly, and is therefore advancing a coordinated, Federal Government-wide approach to doing so. The rapid speed at which AI capabilities are advancing compels the United States to lead in this moment for the sake of our security, economy, and society.” You can find this comprehensive 36 page document 75226 in the (Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 210 / Executive Order 14110)
Policy Shifts in Washington
So what happened between then and now? Executive Order 14110 was rescinded by U.S. president Donald Trump within hours of his assuming office on January 20, 2025.
September 14, 2026, Anabel Sosa, Senior California politics reporter wrote: “President Donald Trump and Johnson downplayed those fears over the weekend and emphasized that if American regulators slow down AI development, the U.S. could risk falling behind China.
‘We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us,’ [Mike] Johnson told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday. He called on the AI companies to instead establish guardrails themselves.”
“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” Trump posted on social media.”
Between last week and today, I collected 9 different articles on the AI Crisis. I had conversations with friends and colleagues. For the most part, I discovered how little people understood about AI. After reading the nine articles I learned how little I know about it. America is home to 73 AI companies, but Anthropic, OpenAI, Space XAI and Google are being sued over alleged collusion.
Timing is everything
Last week I called the AI Crisis a “red herring” and my opinion has not changed. The midterm primaries are weeks away and we are being distracted from corruption and lies. Why did Mike Johnson send Congress home on Recess until after November? Because Johnson said in January, “I have no intention of getting in the way of President Trump and his administration,” and on this point he’s been a man of his word.
Follow the Money to the Data Centers
While Washington debates high-level policy, local campaign ads across the country are zeroing in on a much more tangible issue: data center construction.
Candidates in both parties are increasingly running ads against data centers, framing opponents as indifferent to community concerns over their construction.
Public opinion on data centers has swung from cautiously optimistic to largely negative, with concerns over electricity rates, water use and job creation cutting across party lines.
The 2026 midterms could shape future data center policy, as losses for pro-data center candidates might fuel more moratoriums and pauses that threaten AI investment and stock market gains.
What Are Data Centers Doing?
“Data centers store data and run the software behind the services people use all day. Stream a show, send an email, tap a card at checkout, back up a photo or ask an AI a question, and somewhere a data center does the work and sends it back almost instantly.
The core jobs are storing data, processing it and moving it across networks. They host the cloud platforms companies rent instead of running their own servers, and they stream video, clear payments, keep business systems online and now train and run AI models. They also handle quieter work, from corporate databases to the cybersecurity systems that guard them. As AI has grown, much of the new capacity goes to the specialized chips it depends on.”
Where Data Centers are built and where they get the power to run them are the issues we need to pay attention to.
Picture a World without Data Centers
Historically, the word “computer“ originally referred to a human being who performed calculations before it became a machine. My first office job required me to use a comptometer to calculate payroll from paper time sheets. I was a human computer.
Personal handheld electronic calculators came out between 1970 and 1971. They were very expensive and banned from use in my MBA program. We used slide rules and Logarithm tables. (pictured below)
When we say we do not use AI, we mean we pick and choose certain AI functions. Meanwhile our medical providers, insurance companies, utilities, new cars, air traffic controllers, etc rely on AI. Humanity is relying on us to wake up and pay attention. That is why elections are so important. We need to vote against greed and not for a party. Know the candidates, dismiss the mud-slinging noise and make informed decisions.
Please add your thoughts to the comments. I need your feedback. We need all of us.