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Bost Boasts but Doesn’t Deliver on AI
Mike Bost touts a toothless AI bill and a do-nothing House — while Trump treats real safety concerns as a “hoax,” and Julie Fortier offers a clearer path.
This is a Reader Editorial. It reflects the views of its author, not the Dispatch, and isn't held to our reporting's verification standard. Read our submission guide.
The do-nothing Republicans
As of September 16, the GOP-led House of Representatives is adjourned until after the midterms. The House has held floor votes on just 65 days this year. They’ve been in session fewer hours than the House has been in session since 1990. And despite the GOP controlling the House, Senate, and President’s office, the Republicans have enacted just 34 laws this year. True, Congress doesn’t get as much work done during election years, but this is the fewest laws passed during the same period in any midterm election year since 1990.
But wait — he just boasted about Republicans passing 70 bills
In his “Bost Bulletin” sent on September 20, Mike Bost boasts that the “Republican majority in the House passed over 70 bills.” Well, you do the math: most of them are going nowhere. The only bill he discusses, the Ratepayer Protection Act, was passed not by the Republican majority alone but by a vote of 417–3. The bill would require states to “consider” requiring new data centers to cover their own power costs. Consider.
So the new AI bill doesn’t really do anything, does it?
Nope. Asking states to “consider” charging AI companies for power won’t address the larger concerns about AI, including excessive drain on our water resources, AI’s threat to jobs, and the increasing tendency of AI bots to go rogue. Why isn’t Mike Bost doing anything about this?
Trump thinks AI fears are a hoax
Because Donald Trump doesn’t want any meaningful laws to regulate AI. Not to worry: Trump will take care of everything. Here’s what he said:
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!
The American people want AI regulation. 100 of the world’s leading experts on AI just signed a letter calling for independent safety evaluators of AI. But Trump’s team thinks concerns about AI are a “hoax” — like (real) Russian interference in the 2016 election and Covid (very real). It may be no coincidence that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, among others, huge donors to Trump, are opposing efforts at regulation. Trump cares more about lining his own pockets than protecting us.
What does Julie Fortier think?
Mike Bost isn’t our only choice. Julie Fortier has sensible, smart positions on AI. She thinks the federal government should set clear baseline rules, while allowing states to adopt more rigorous rules if they so choose. Mike Bost boasts; Julie Fortier would deliver. Make the right choice this November.