MADISON, WI – State Representative Christian Phelps (D–Eau Claire) introduced an amendment to Assembly Bill 840 on Tuesday. His amendment would have changed a Republican-authored data center bill to require a regulatory board to oversee the impacts of artificial intelligence on Wisconsin business practices and the workforce.
Rep. Phelps’s amendment was rejected along party lines, with every Assembly Republican voting to remove it from consideration.
In the absence of WisconsinEye, Rep. Phelps’s office shares with the press the following excerpts from his speech on the Assembly floor in favor of the amendment:
“One of the policy concerns about the bill before us is that there is no regulatory body in place that will be tasked with overseeing the overall impact – not just of data centers – but of artificial intelligence on the people of the state, and particularly on the workforce.
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“The very, very, very rich have gotten richer in recent years, and they have been open about the fact that they would love to save even more costs in their giant corporations by not paying employees at all, and instead outsourcing the tasks that currently workers are being paid for to artificial intelligence.
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“At the same time, Affordable Care Act subsidies – tax credits – have expired, and health care costs have skyrocketed. The President has tried to freeze federal funding to Wisconsin nonprofits and direct services and Head Start programs. He froze FoodShare for weeks.
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“And here in Wisconsin, members of the majority – members of the President’s same party – have tried to make Medicaid less accessible.
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“They’ve tried to reject unrestricted cash transfers. They’ve tried to limit unemployment insurance accessibility, and they have tried to ban some of the avenues available for public school funding. So the social safety net is being ripped out by the same party that is trying to green light more artificial intelligence data centers in Wisconsin, which would ultimately, without the regulations outlined in the body of this amendment, lead to more job losses.
“And it is very important that we consider the policy implications … on the immediate economic experiences of our constituents, which is why this amendment should be adopted.”
