Business News Tech AI Nevada unions, politicians caught between AI job creation and destruction
Nevada unions' soul-searching reflects the national debate underway over whether regulation should slow down AI development amid conflicting projections of job destruction and creation - and whether AI will ultimately lift humanity or harm it.
On more than 100,000 acres of Nevada desert east of Reno, one of the world's largest concentrations of data centers is taking shape, providing years of work for thousands of electricians, pipefitters and other union tradespeople who are building it. About 400 miles southeast, along the iconic Las Vegas Strip, the AI technology powered by such data centers is taking a toll: Self-driving Zoox and Waymos are replacing human-driven taxis and valets; casino floor bartenders are being replaced by robots; and MGM's massive call center is slashing hundreds of jobs. That split screen is challenging the Nevada Teamsters , a politically powerful network of local labor unions representing 30,000 workers across the construction, transportation and hospitality industries, many of whom will be voting in the Nov. 3 elections. Some want to see new data-center construction halted or slowed. Others view the boom as a gift.
"My job is to represent all of our unions," said Ross Kinson, the Nevada Teamsters' political director, adding the group had launched a process in April to find a unified stance ahead of the November polls. " Nevada unions' soul-searching reflects the national debate underway over whether regulation should slow down AI development amid conflicting projections of job destruction and creation - and whether AI will ultimately lift humanity or harm it.
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