Progressive Democrats taking hardline positions against AI are getting louder.

Why it matters: Five influential progressives are shaping a confrontational Democratic message on AI, distinguishing themselves from party centrists by openly challenging data centers and AI-linked political money.

At the center is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has led the progressive anti-AI movement with proposals for:

A moratorium on data centers.
Collaborating with China on AI safety.
Protecting workers from AI-fueled displacement.

Sanders is also making AI a flashpoint in his long-held objection to money in politics, calling on Democrats not to take super PAC money, especially from AI-linked groups.

He recently introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act and warned at a press conference unveiling the bill about the growing influence of AI super PACs.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is going all in on the data center moratorium push, holding up jars of brown, polluted water during a recent congressional hearing.

The water came from Morgan County, Georgia, where a Meta data center was built, Ocasio-Cortez said in an exchange that went viral with Environmental Protection Agency official Jessica Kramer.
Ocasio-Cortez said Congress should launch investigations into the impact of data centers on water quality.
AOC has also sought to tackle AI deepfakes and impacts on children by co-sponsoring the DEFIANCE Act.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is co-sponsoring that bill in the House to take super PAC money out of politics, caught the ire of Silicon Valley when he came out in favor of a wealth tax

He criticized data centers as largely "extractive" in an interview with Axios.
Khanna has released his "Work for America" proposal, designed to hire one million Americans for public works and tech training as a safeguard against AI automation.
His biggest break from Sanders has been stopping short of calling for a moratorium on data center construction.

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner shared the stage with Sanders over Memorial Day weekend, where Sanders called out Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and other tech giants.

"They are investing many hundreds of billions of dollars into the development and implementation of AI and robotics and — in one sentence — what is the function of AI and robotics? It is to replace human labor," Sanders said.
Platner's alignment with Sanders and Khanna, who called him "the most compelling candidate in the entire 2026 cycle" in an interview with Axios, is likely to inform his yet-to-be-released AI policy platform.
In a recent New York Times interview, Platner said he likes Khanna "very much" as a potential leader for the party, in part because of their shared interest in industrial policy.
"But I also think that I wouldn't be surprised if the person we see in 2028 we haven't even started talking about yet. I'll be upfront. I think that people are looking for radical change," he added.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been key in shaping the Democratic playbook for 2028 and is now wading deeper into AI messaging. Just this week, she proposed taxing AI companies and data centers.

Warren has long sought to break up Big Tech and secure consumer protections.
Warren has also launched investigations into data centers' impact on people's electricity bills.

What we're watching: Centrists may be waking up to the reality that Democrats are not embracing AI to the extent Republicans are (though some Republicans are wary, too).

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent outreach to Warren could signal a shift, but his AI executive order flopped among labor organizations that said studying the impact on workers is not enough.
California Federation of Labor Unions President Lorena Gonzalez said that Khanna's "Work for America" proposal was "way more developed and worker- and job-centered."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, meanwhile, is poised to sign a major AI safety bill into law.

The big picture: These five progressives are on the frontlines of testing whether grassroots skepticism of AI can become a lasting force in Democratic politics.

More progressives in D.C. and across states are coming out with anti-AI proposals.
"Americans are rightly concerned that AI may make a few billionaires richer but lead to millions losing their jobs," said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, who has his own AI tax proposal.
"We need bold proposals that will actually solve this huge problem.