San Francisco Congressional Hopefuls Debate AI, Billionaires and, of Course, Housing
San Francisco congressional candidates Scott Wiener and Connie Chan debated artificial intelligence regulation, including whether local communities should be able to ban data centers. Chan called for a data center moratorium, while Wiener favored allowing individual communities to decide and highlighted his record on AI safety legislation.
State Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan debated AI regulation in the race to represent California’s 11th Congressional District, which Nancy Pelosi is leaving after nearly four decades. The discussion reflected San Francisco’s central role in the AI industry and focused on how to address potential risks from rapidly advancing technology.
Chan advocated a temporary moratorium on data centers to give policymakers time to establish regulations. Wiener said individual communities should determine whether to prohibit data centers and cited his authorship of a California AI safety bill, which included a proposed AI kill switch but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The candidates also criticized the use of AI in local political disputes and discussed allegations of sexual assault involving former supervisor candidate Manny Yekutiel.