The hits keep coming!

July 28, 2025

Hey, everyone!

We continue to see our government act with a lack of foresight and a callus disregard for the lives they're impacting. Let's look at something that happened last week that hasn't gotten much media attention. 

Trump's AI Action Plan is a handout to Big Tech

On Wednesday, Donald Trump signed three executive orders that effectively remove regulations on AI companies. These orders will do a lot to worsen the negative impacts of AI on our society under the guise of enabling innovation. Two main issues worth highlighting are 1) the removal of environmental regulations for the construction of data centers, and 2) the prevention of DEI considerations in the building of AI models. Let's take a quick look at these points so that we have a clear understanding of what's at stake.

First: It is predicted that data centers in the United States will utilize up to 12% of all power generated from the grid by 2028, up from the 4.4% in use today. This will require a massive ramp-up in power generation, the likes of which will outpace the rate of increased renewable energy integration. This means environmental regulations would serve as a shackle to these companies, which is why they're motivated to have these restrictions removed. We can now expect an increase in fossil fuel investments, worsening the climate crisis as we continue to see record high temperatures year after year. Additionally, these data centers and power stations are disproportionately erected in locations that negatively impact black and brown communities, while, ironically, providing these communities fewer options and lower quality of service.

Second: A prevalent and increasing problem with the data used to train current AI models is that they are rife with bias! This results in Generative AI proving problematic in many domains when it comes to factors such as race and ethnicity, gender, and age, often causing major harm. Tech companies are very aware of this. They're also aware of the associated costs to address the engineering, data sourcing, and testing necessary to remedy the behavior. Their profit-driven models are averse to these costs and they would much prefer to service "unaffected" groups while continuing to dish out harm to marginalized communities that wield less political power and often lack true advocates.

These are issues that AI regulation should seek to address, but the Trump administration is dead set on clearing the path for these companies to do as they will, and we're seeing the execution of their plan:

Step 1 - Ban state-level AI regulation (The Big Beautiful Bill)

Step 2 - Remove and prevent federal AI regulation (Unilateral executive orders)

It took no time at all for this administration to give Big Tech a free hand to run roughshod over our data and privacy. Their intent was telegraphed when they accepted million-dollar donations from these tech CEOs and then lined them up on the podium during Trump's inauguration. This administration is unbothered by the potential dangers caused by removing these protections. In fact, they are proactively ensuring that the bias and proclivity to cause harm inherent to so many technologies and AI systems will persist. This is only the beginning! While this is happening, the response from Congress has been predictable: crickets! Yes, as I write this, the Congress is in recess, but that hasn't prevented members of the House and Senate from putting out statements and giving interviews on many other topics. This is a BIG deal, and  Congress, especially congressional Democrats, need to treat it that way! It's unclear if their silent acquiescence is due to a lack of understanding or simply a lack of interest. Regardless, what we're seeing is a continuation of the pattern of Congress being unwilling or unable to address a segment of the economy with outsized, and ever-increasing influence in our lives. It's regular citizens, like the residents of Philadelphia with a majority-minority population and 20% living below the poverty line , that will deal with the fallout, and it will be devastating.

Drop by We The People Wednesdays

We The People Wednesdays is a grassroots political activist group focused on organizing and mobilizing against the current regime! It's held every Wednesday from 4-5 PM at Richard Allen Lane Station in Mt. Airy. Each event features one or more speakers, a set of actions that we can take, as well as a musical performance. I'll be speaking this Wednesday to introduce myself to the community and talk about the challenges we face as a society largely influenced by unregulated, profit-driven technology companies. Come by if you're in the neighborhood, and be sure to check their website for a list of speakers and musical acts for future events.