Big Tech

As new technologies move into our communities, we are rightly asking hard questions. Whether it's a data center drawing on our power and water or automatic license plate readers like Flock tracking who drive through our neighborhoods, these decisions can get made quickly and with little public input. People deserve transparency about what is being built, data that is being collected, and they deserve regulations that put cost, privacy, environmental impact, and labor practices at the front of the conversation rather than as an afterthought.

Nabeela Believes:

• AI Technology is advancing rapidly and Illinois must act accordingly to rein in Big Tech so that AI is not used to take advantage of markets and exploit consumers through practices like AI Surveillance Pricing.

• Data centers have been in our communities for years, but as large-scale AI data centers get proposed, residents deserve transparency on water and energy use. Any impacts on electricity use, water consumption, and noise pollution must be disclosed to ensure that we have the information necessary to impact decisions about development in our community.

• Data centers consume enormous amounts of power, and the companies driving that demand should be the ones covering the cost of it. The cost of data centers should not be showing up in our electricity bills. 

• Developers should be held to fair labor standards and safe working conditions, and communities should see real benefit from what goes up in their backyard. That is why Nabeela supports regulating data center development, so that Big Tech pays its fair share.