Kenneth Glad
When new technology demands huge amounts of electricity, everyday people usually end up footing the bill. Right now, tech billionaires are pushing forward with exactly this kind of massive expansion. One prominent politician says the public is being conned.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now sounding the alarm on artificial intelligence hubs. He points out that training models like ChatGPT requires staggering power.
In an interview with Wired, the mayor noted that training a single model took enough energy to power San Francisco for three days. He believes everyday citizens are taking on the burden while corporations reap the benefits.
“It’s also a repudiation of what has been a governing politics for the last few years when it comes to AI, which is: our risk, their reward,” Mamdani said.
A mythical illusion
The mayor sees a deliberate strategy behind how tech leaders talk about their products. They want the public to view the systems as something beyond human comprehension.
By framing the tools as “mythical” or “divine,” creators try to dodge oversight. He compared this evasion to social media giants claiming they could regulate themselves nearly two decades ago.
He is blunt about his lack of faith in the industry’s most famous figures. In fact, when asked by Wired if he trusts Sam Altman, the mayor flatly said no.
He fears the current boom strongly resembles the housing bubble. And he fully expects that bubble to pop.
Guinea pigs for profit
Mamdani is backing up his criticism with local bans. To protect children, New York City recently enacted a strict moratorium on generative tools for younger students.
The mayor explained the ban aims to stop students from being used as “guinea pigs for the profit motives of technology companies.” Children need the space to try, fail, and learn naturally.
The city has also cracked down on the real estate sector. A new rule stops brokers from showing prospective renters artificially generated apartment pictures.
Taking a toll
Beyond electricity and economics, the mayor worries about the human cost. He highlighted the deep emotional impact on workers whose skills are suddenly replicated by machines.
Mamdani referenced a mathematician who broke down in tears during a recent interview after a computer instantly solved a lifelong problem. The professor experienced a profound crisis regarding his own life’s work.
For many professionals, the new technology is stripping away their core sense of purpose. The mayor believes humanity must remain the primary focus when governments decide how to manage these advancing tools.
