Senator David McCormick warns that artificial intelligence represents the defining technological shift of this generation, but one that could hit Americans where it hurts most: their wallets and their jobs.
Speaking at a News Shapers event, the Pennsylvania Republican acknowledged that despite stronger wage data under President Trump, most households don't feel financially secure. The reason is straightforward: housing, energy, and health care costs are climbing faster than paychecks.
AI, he said, will only intensify the energy crunch. "Energy demand is going to triple in the next 15 years," McCormick told Axios, raising alarms about how those costs could ripple through consumer utility bills if Congress doesn't intervene.
McCormick has moved beyond rhetoric to legislation. He co-authored a bill with Delaware Democrat Christopher Coons focused on liquid cooling technology for data centers, aiming to satisfy AI's massive power appetite without saddling consumers with higher rates.
The senator's interest in AI runs deep. A former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, McCormick has championed massive investments in the sector, securing $70 billion in AI and energy commitments for Pennsylvania last year. But his push isn't purely economic nationalism. He frames the stakes geopolitically.
"We have to lead the innovation because the consequences of China being the leader in AI could reshape the world," McCormick said. The U.S. cannot afford to lose the race, he insisted.
Yet even McCormick, an AI champion in the chamber, concedes the technology carries serious downsides. Job displacement looms. Ethical questions remain unresolved. Environmental and economic risks require safeguards.
He has stopped short, however, of embracing strict regulation, arguing that AI technology moves too fast for lawmakers to effectively constrain it right now. That position puts him in a familiar spot for Silicon Valley allies: supportive of innovation, cautious about oversight.
The setup does invite scrutiny. McCormick's wife, Dina Powell McCormick, serves as president of Meta, one of the most aggressive players in the AI space. While there's no evidence of impropriety, the family's deep ties to the industry underscore how much influence Big Tech wields over the people writing its rules.
Author James Rodriguez: "McCormick's right that energy is the real battleground here, but his solution of waiting to regulate while betting on voluntary efficiency improvements sounds like hoping the market fixes itself. History suggests it won't."
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