[ExI] Trump Says a Smart President Is All That’s Needed to Rein In A.I.

[Keith Henson]

On Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 11:43 AM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:

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> *From:* Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] Trump Says a Smart President Is All That’s Needed to
> Rein In A.I.
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> >…Outlawing abortion is not sound medicine.
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> Agreed.  Our state doesn’t outlaw abortion.
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> >…Ectopic pregnancy requires an abortion or the mother dies…
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> I agree.  Abortion should not be illegal.  Overturning Roe vs Wade is not
> directly about abortion, it is about the limits of federal government power.
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> >…A state could outlaw antibiotics, do you think this would be sound
> medicine?
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> Keith
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> I agree with you, Keith.  The federal government does not have the
> authority to require states to enable or support sound medicine.  States
> have the theoretical power to outlaw antibiotics if they wish, for they
> control who gets medical licenses.  As far as I know, none of them do
> that.
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> Overturning Roe vs Wade is not really about abortion, even if it is framed
> in that context.  The Roe decision was overturned because the fed
> overstepped its constitutional authority when it made a law  about abortion.
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> Correct me if I am wrong, but there never was a federal law about abortion
that I know about. Roe was a Supreme Court  decision that women had a
constitutional right to abortion like they have a right to vote or own
property. When it is ruled that way, states cannot take it away.

The fed cannot demand that the states allow data centers either, nor can it
> pass a law forbidding them.
>

I am not sure about that. Consider the nuclear facilities. The Feds decide
they need a weapons plant somewhere, I am not sure the states could deny
it. All the Feds would need to do is declare a data center an essential
matter of defense, and they could force a state to allow data centers.

All that gives me the notion that excellent investment opportunities will
> be in places like Nevada, Wyoming and West Virginia.  Nevada is open minded
> on environmental regulations and is close to California, as well as
> alternate markets for power (both California and Phoenix) Wyoming has a lot
> of coal (but not enough water) West Virginia has plenty of coal, natural
> gas and (unlike the other two states) plenty of water.
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> Powering AI data centers with fossil fuels is just a bad idea. Project I
have been working on stores solar energy in MSW or biomass allowing 24/7
operation of the data centers mostly on solar.


> Of those three, my guess is West Virginia will be the most promising new
> place for new data centers.
>

Possibly. Other than short term employment when a data center is built,
they provide little value to the community. The high paying jobs can stay
in places like California and.make use of data centers anywhere in the
world or even off Earth.

When Pete and I become the fifth and sixth trillionaires, that’s where I
> propose putting mine.
>

Lots of luck. :-)

Keith

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> On Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 6:19 AM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:
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> *From:* Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] Trump Says a Smart President Is All That’s Needed to
> Rein In A.I.
>
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> "
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> "Clarification: states have the authority to outlaw development of AI, but
> only IN THAT STATE"
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> >…I am not sure about that. States cannot pass capricious laws. I am
> fairly sure they would have to make a case that AI was somehow illegal or
> prove that it hurt people.
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> >… Not that it matters one bit. … I seriously doubt such a bill would pass
> …
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> >…Does anyone take exception to this analysis?
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> Keith
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> Not at all, Keith, I agree.  What I meant was states have the authority to
> make those kinds of laws, not that they would do it.  They can (and might)
> make it unprofitable to put a data center in that state.  But other states
> will welcome data centers (and are doing so.)  They welcome the jobs, the
> technology, etc.
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> The federal government cannot legally restrict AI development, analogous
> to the SCOTUS decision that the fed cannot legally restrict states from
> making abortion law.  The SCOTUS decision striking down Roe vs Wade also
> protects states which want data centers and states which do not.  It makes
> the kind of law Bernie Sanders proposed illegal.  That critical decision
> about abortion strikes down the notion that the federal government can do
> anything it wants.  It clarifies: no it can’t.
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