AIFear Report
LiveUpdated recently2026-09-19 22:32Z

Loudest fear right now: Power bills and data centers

House passes ratepayer protection bill to limit data center cost shifts

Index
92 of 100, rank 1 of 9
Attention
66,689 Wikipedia views, 3,632 news articles this month
Bills
46 since January 2025, in 15 states, plus Congress
Controls
34 written into those bills
Goes to
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, in 4 of them
Lobbying
295 filings name it, past year
Funding
$190K from advocacy groups, past year
Headline from
utilitydive.com
See the receipts

How afraid people are

What the fear is turning into

  1. 252.7KWikipedia views on the nine fears, last 30 days
  2. 1,042bills, rules and orders about AI since January 2025
  3. 365of them put AI under new government control
  4. 140agencies and officials handed new power

▲ 11 new this week

Jun 27: 972Jul 4: 977Jul 11: 980Jul 18: 983Jul 25: 990Aug 1: 999Aug 8: 1,008Aug 15: 1,009Aug 22: 1,011Aug 29: 1,018Sep 5: 1,024Sep 12: 1,031Sep 19: 1,0429721,042Jun 27today
Bills, rules and orders about AI, running total over the last 90 days

The Fear Index

Scored 0 to 100. bills lobbying attention

  1. 1Power bills and data centers46 bills · 15 states · 295 lobbying filings92
  2. 2Kids and chatbots51 bills · 24 states · 304 lobbying filings89
  3. 3Deepfakes74 bills · 22 states · 114 lobbying filings88
  4. 4Job loss12 bills · 5 states · 394 lobbying filings76
  5. 5Algorithmic bias42 bills · 19 states · 91 lobbying filings · ▲ 2 new this week75
  6. 6China race5 bills · 1 state · 203 lobbying filings67
  7. 7AI cyberattacks4 bills · 1 state · 582 lobbying filings67
  8. 8Loss of control70 lobbying filings · 122.8K Wikipedia views this month · 1,067 news articles this month48
  9. 9Bioweapons34 lobbying filings · 421 news articles this month33

The same fears, everywhere

Every fear, every channel, counted.

FearBillsStatesCongressLobbying filingsStatementsNews, 30 daysto Sep 13Wikipedia, 30 days
Power bills4615229523,63266.7K
Kids and chatbots5124130461,04720.6K
Deepfakes74222114198027.9K
Job loss125239421,1154,390
Bias421929101142,931
China race51320351,5607,408
Cyberattacks41358248220
Loss of control00070251,067122.8K
Bioweapons0003414210

The totals

  • $80.7Mraised and spent by AI super PACs this cycle
  • $2.4Mspent lobbying on the fears by advocacy groups, past year
  • 442separate government controls across those bills
  • 47states, plus Congress, with AI measures on the books or in motion
  • 1,356federal lobbying filings naming one of the nine fears, past year
  • 10,758news articles on the nine fears, 30 days to Sep 13

What the fear is buying

The government controls written into the bills that cite these fears, by number of bills.

  1. 1Mandatory reporting to government6 passed, 120 pending · justified by Kids and chatbots, Algorithmic bias, Power bills and data centers137bills
  2. 2Labels and watermarks on AI content8 passed, 89 pending · justified by Deepfakes, Kids and chatbots, Algorithmic bias105bills
  3. 3Moratoriums and limits on data centers3 passed, 89 pending · justified by Power bills and data centers, Job loss98bills
  4. 4New powers for government agencies2 passed, 67 pending · justified by Kids and chatbots, Algorithmic bias, Job loss72bills
  5. 5ID and age checks for users0 passed, 10 pending · justified by Kids and chatbots, Deepfakes16bills
  6. 6Licenses required to build AI0 passed, 7 pending · justified by Job loss, Power bills and data centers, Kids and chatbots7bills
  7. 7Export controls on models and chips1 passed, 3 pending · justified by China race, Job loss, Power bills and data centers5bills
  8. 8State laws overridden by Washington0 passed, 1 pending2bills
All 10 controls tracked

Who benefits

Agencies and officials the bills would hand new power over AI, by number of bills.

  1. 1New Jersey Board of Public UtilitiesAgencyhanded mandatory reporting8bills
  2. 2Pennsylvania Department of Environmental ProtectionAgencyhanded data center limits4bills
  3. 3National Institute of Standards and TechnologyAgencyhanded mandatory reporting4bills
  4. 4New Jersey Attorney GeneralAttorney generalhanded mandatory reporting4bills
  5. 5Hawaii Civil Rights CommissionAgencyhanded new authority4bills
  6. 6New Jersey Department of Environmental ProtectionAgencyhanded new authority4bills
See all 140

In their own words

The fear as the bill states it, and the power the same bill hands out.

  • Job loss
    “ensuring that AI-related economic gains benefit workers and the people of the United States (including by preventing AI-related job loss)”
    S. 4214, CongressPendingData center limitsExport controlsLicense to buildMandatory reportingDepartment of Commerce
  • Kids and chatbots
    “Establishes protections for minor account holders of conversational artificial intelligence services.”
    HB 2502, HawaiiPendingLabeling mandateMandatory reportingNew agency powersHawaii Attorney General
  • Kids and chatbots
    “require a covered entity, defined in the bill, to (i) implement certain reasonable systems and processes”
    SB 796, VirginiaPendingLabeling mandateMandatory reportingNew agency powersVirginia Attorney General
  • Deepfakes
    “Any AI-generated content depicting a real individual shall include an additional disclaimer, as described in the act.”
    SB 1324, MissouriPendingLabeling mandateMandatory reportingNew agency powersMissouri Attorney General
  • Algorithmic bias
    “A developer of an artificial intelligence system is also subject to the provisions of the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act" if the artificial intelligence system is deployed in a way that violates the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act".”
    HB 1008, ColoradoPendingLabeling mandateMandatory reportingNew agency powersColorado Attorney General

Where it's happening

Legislatures ranked by AI measures.

  1. 1Congress17 with new controls, 0 passed · loudest fear: China race136bills
  2. 2New York64 with new controls, 0 passed · loudest fear: Deepfakes119bills
  3. 3New Jersey38 with new controls, 0 passed · loudest fear: Deepfakes95bills
  4. 4Hawaii12 with new controls, 0 passed · loudest fear: Power bills and data centers43bills
  5. 5Virginia32 with new controls, 3 passed · loudest fear: Power bills and data centers43bills
  6. 6Pennsylvania25 with new controls, 0 passed · loudest fear: Power bills and data centers40bills
See all 49

Already law

18 passed, with the controls they carry.

  • SB 1546, OregonPassed · 2026-04-06Relating to artificial intelligence companions.Labeling mandateMandatory reportingKids and chatbots
  • SB 540, GeorgiaEffective · 2027-07-01Online Internet Safety; certain disclosures related to conversational AI services; requireLabeling mandateMandatory reportingKids and chatbots
  • LD 1727, MainePassed · 2025-06-12An Act To Ensure Transparency In Consumer Transactions Involving Artificial IntelligenceLabeling mandate
  • HJR 7, DelawarePassed · 2025-07-23DIRECTING THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMMISSION TO WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CREATE A REGULATORY SANDBOX…New agency powers
  • SB 135, South DakotaPassed · 2026-03-30protect residents from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers and clarify authority to regulate data centers.Data center limitsPower bills and data centers

Who's funding it

Advocacy groups and foundations lobbying on these fears, past year.

  1. 1Americans for Responsible InnovationAdvocacy groupmentions 3 fears$1.8M
  2. 2ControlAIAdvocacy groupmentions 1 fear$230K
  3. 3EncodeAdvocacy groupmentions 1 fear$230K
  4. 4Center for AI SafetyAdvocacy groupmentions 1 fear$180K
  5. 5Common Sense MediaAdvocacy groupmentions 1 fear$22K
  6. 6The Alliance for Secure AIAdvocacy groupmentions 5 fears$20K

Industry at the table

Companies and trade groups with lobbying filings naming these fears, past year.

  1. 1MicrosoftAI companymentions 5 fears25 filings
  2. 2MetaAI companymentions 6 fears23 filings
  3. 3SamsungChipmakermentions 3 fears21 filings
  4. 4OracleAI companymentions 5 fears12 filings
  5. 5Edison Electric InstituteTrade groupmentions 3 fears10 filings
See all 461

Election money

Committees spending on AI politics this cycle, and the names that put up the money.

  1. 1Leading the FutureSuper PAC$75.8M
  2. 2Public FirstSuper PAC$4.9M

Where it came from

  1. 1Andreessen HorowitzLeading the FutureFeb 2026$50M
  2. 2Greg BrockmanLeading the FutureSep 2025$12.5M
  3. 3Anna BrockmanLeading the FutureSep 2025$12.5M
  4. 4Dario AmodeiPublic FirstMay 2026$1M
  5. 5Public First ActionPublic FirstFeb 2026$1M
  6. 6Peter LofgrenPublic FirstJun 2026$999.9K
See all 14

Pitch in to keep the report running

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