The AI election
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Why do polls show less than 1 % of voters consider AI a top concern?
AI panic is everywhere. Artificial intelligence is taking over. Robots from open AI hacking into another company. The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.
But where is that panic really coming from? According to a poll from the New York Times in Siena, only 1% of voters listed artificial intelligence or data centers as their most important voting issue. I'm I'm an old old school person. I don't I don't care about AI. He's saying that doesn't matter, that doesn't register for you. And sometimes I wonder if the freak out about rogue AI systems and superintelligence is something. That's only consuming us here on the coast. Do they care about AI in so-called real America? What people in my district are saying is we think the risks outweigh the benefits. This week on America actually, I'm talking to Michigan congressional candidate Will Lawrence, a political activist-turned politician, on why he shaped his entire campaign around confronting the AI revolution.
Let's dig in.
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Artificial intelligence has gotten so much attention this cycle. First, it was data centers, which we covered early on back in New Jersey. Can you just give us a sense of like what we're outside right now? This is the new data center in Vineland, New Jersey. We're here in Conference. Everyone hates automated license plate readers. And flock cameras have become so unpopular that Democratic and Republican communities are backtracking from their competitors. Commitments with them. We already know that AI is broadly unpopular in polling, but to what extent is it a voter priority? And what can even be done at this point? To help us understand, I've invited Will Lawrence, the Democratic candidate for Michigan's Battleground 7th Congressional District, to talk about the politics of AI.
For most of his life, Will was an activist. He co founded the Sunrise Movement. The environmental activist group known for its civil disobedience. And he was considered a long shot candidate for his primary, but he won through a focus on data centers.
But what we know right now is that it's being used to make the rich and powerful still richer and more powerful.
Lawrence called for a 12-month moratorium on building data centers in Michigan, and his supporters chanted data centers lost at his victory party. Like a lot of the left, Will has evolved with the time. And these days, he talks a little bit less about climate change and more about combating big tech. He joins me for this episode in New York. Well, Lawrence, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me here. Part of the reason we wanted to talk to you is because I think what you've been up to uh out in Michigan has been so interesting.
What motivated Lawrence to center his campaign around opposing data centers?
But we want to start kind of with your political career before. You have a long history of activism, participated in protests early in high school, you were arrested for chaining yourself to an oil pipeline. How did you catch the activism bug?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why do polls show less than 1 % of voters consider AI a top concern?
0:00–2:15
2
How does Michigan congressional candidate Will Lawrence view AI and data centers?
2:15–4:05
3
What motivated Lawrence to center his campaign around opposing data centers?
4:05–7:56
4
Why does Lawrence propose a 12‑month moratorium on new data centers in Michigan?
7:56–11:40
5
How does Lawrence link AI risks to economic control and voter agency?
11:40–15:24
6
What broader progressive challenges connect climate, housing, and AI in the discussion?
15:24–19:37
7
How does Lawrence respond to criticism from the Congressional Black Caucus?
19:37–23:42
8
What hopeful vision does Lawrence offer for organizing against tech concentration?
23:42–31:12