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>> Let's turn to this. The AI buildout

growing as a political flashoint. New

York State leading the push back,

becoming the first in the nation to

issue a moratorum on new hyperscala data

centers. PJM, the largest grid operator

in the country, saying data centers have

increased supply cost by more than 60%.

The former US commerce secretary, Jenna

Roondo, is leading RaiseUs, a

nonpartisan organization designed to

help the American labor force adapt to

AI. The secretary joins us now for more.

Madam Secretary, welcome to the program.

Let's just start the conversation with

the kind of work you're doing and what

we need to know this morning.

>> Good morning. Good morning. So, uh,

raise us is the new organization that I

am leading and our mission is very

simple. You know, we want the US to lead

the global AI competition, but to have a

strategy so that every American worker

gets brought along. And right now, we're

not headed down that path. And it's

something I'm deeply worried about. We

have extremely outdated

uh infrastructure, social insurance,

support for workers, incentives for

companies to retrain and redeploy

instead of just laying people off. And

so I think it's time that we get to

work. We're working with governors of

both parties. This is a nonpartisan,

non-political effort with companies and

just trying to find some creative

innovative solutions because I will tell

you one of my greatest worries is even

if America has the best chips, the best

models, the most data centers, but

doesn't have an intentional plan to

manage this transition and falls into a

period of very high unemployment, we

will lose the AI race because that will

be too destabilizing.

What's your reaction though to what New

York Governor Kathy Hokll is doing in

terms of the moratorum because this

potentially can slow down how quickly

the US can advance in the AI space.

>> Right? So I think this is a perfect

example of what we're trying to do,

which is to say Americans are worried,

right? They're worried about when when

the average American hears AI, what they

hear is, "I'm going to lose my job. My

electricity prices are going up. my kids

won't have a job. I've just spent money

for college. Those are real legitimate

valid anxieties and we have to find

solutions to address them. So while I

don't think like no one is happier than

the president of China that we are

slowing down data center construction.

That being said, it's not okay if uh

people's electricity bills are going up

or people's water bills are going up or

people's economic security is going down

because of you know AI companies. So we

must find a way to do both steam ahead

with data centers and technology and

make sure you know these companies pay

their fair share so other folks

electricity bills don't go up and people

have frankly a job a meaningful job in

an AI economy.

>> You recently wrote an opinion piece

where you said what we need is a new

grand bargain between the public and

private sectors when it comes to AI.

What do you make of the Trump

administration looking at taking equity

stakes, another version of industrial

policy um that some of which started

under the Biden administration?

>> Yes. So listen, I do think it is a good

idea for the American people uh and and

the American government to share in the

extreme

uh profit and commercial benefit of AI.

Um, that being said, I personally have

always been a bit of a critic on the

government taking big equity shares of

companies. Uh, you know, I'm I'm still a

believer in capitalism, however many

flaws it has right now and the way it's

playing out in America. And I just, you

know, the government owning the means of

production is, you know, the definition

of socialism. I think it's creates a lot

of problem potential for corruption. So

I think the intention is a good

intention. Personally I just get very

nervous

um if we're stepping down a path of like

a stateowned enterprise etc. So I I'd

like to find another way. How do you

balance the idea of trying to create

some sort of pact with the US uh worker

with the US average citizen while also

maintaining a US edge versus China?

Right. I mean, do you want to sort of

create this sense that there is

isolation between the two stacks? I just

wonder what the ultimate goal is, what

the approach you you're hearing from

some of the folks you're speaking with.

You know, I think if you talk to the

tech companies in AI, uh many of whom

are partners, uh with us and raise us,

they feel that they're in a global arms

race to, you know, get ahead of each

other and also get ahead of China and

other technologies. And I I understand

that. But I will say this,

if we as a nation put our blinders on

and and if every company just moves

forward at pace to implement AI

uh to increase profits without a people

strategy. And if we wake up in a couple

of years with millions or tens of

millions Americans put out of work

because of AI, we will lose the global

AI race because there will be massive

regulatory backlash. It will be

massively destabilizing to our economy.

It'll be recessionary. It'll be

massively

destabilizing for our politics. So what

I'm trying to say to business leaders,

to governors, to Congress, to everyone

in America is let's get together and

find solutions. Let us be intentional

about how we transition to an AI economy

because quite frankly, every American

deserves to see themselves productive

and having a good job in that economy.

And until we convince the people of

America that there's a good future for

them in an AI economy, you're going to

continue to see what you what you just

asked me about moratoriums on data

centers, other kinds of uprising. And

that's bad for America. That's bad for

everyone in America.

>> No doubt that debate is going to

continue. We look forward to covering it

with you. The former US commerce

commerce secretary Gina Raando there.

Madam Secretary, thank