US POLITICIANS Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have unveiled a new Bill to pause the development of new AI data centres, warning the rapidly advancing technology threatens the “future of humanity.”

Mr Sanders, an independent senator for Vermont, said lawmakers were “way behind” in their understanding of AI, adding: “We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity.

“We need serious public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential issue. The time for action is now.”

Democrat Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York, said the lack of national legislation regulating AI had already led to harms ranging from mass government surveillance to the proliferation of sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children.

“We must choose humanity over profit,” she said.

The proposed legislation comes amid growing grassroots backlash to the rollout of data centres across the US, which consume large amounts of water and electricity.

A poll published this month found 57 per cent of registered voters believed the risks from AI outweighed the benefits.