An Eastern Wisconsin Senator and a popular online influencer have teamed up to address AI data centers in Wisconsin.
Senator Andre Jacque has teamed up with comedian, bestselling author, and Emmy-award-winning journalist Charlie Berens to give a testimony to the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology, and Tourism in support of Senate Bill 969.
Berens, who could not be there in person, supplied a recorded testimony, where he explained that the only thing the bill looks to do is ban the use of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, in the development of data center plans.
“What I saw was the sentiment of people feeling like they were cut out of the process of having this huge, huge building, an unprecedented building sized with power usage,” explained. “They didn’t know it was happening until it was too late.”
He also noted, “When tech companies transfer their mindset from thinking about ‘How do I convince these few people to how do I convince a community?’ an AI data center will become better for the community.”
Bernes put it bluntly, saying, “Some communities will want these, some communities won’t, but the answer shouldn’t be cutting them out of the process.”
Sen. Jacque, who was at the hearing in person, echoed a lot of these sentiments, adding, “If a project is good for the community, it should survive a little daylight.”
