Axios Live: Florida doesn't need to ban data centers, former Gov. Jeb Bush says
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Former Gov. Jeb Bush (left) with Axios Miami reporter Sommer Brugal. Photo: Nunzio Ruggiero for Axios
MIAMI — Florida leaders want AI guardrails, not bans, when it comes to how the technology is showing up in their state, several speakers said at an Axios Live event.
Why it matters: AI's growing use in classrooms, government and local businesses accelerates the need for regulation that doesn't compromise innovation or economic growth.
Axios' Sommer Brugal and Marc Caputo spoke with Finback Investment Partners chair and founding partner Jeb Bush, Education Freedom Foundation founder Erika Donalds and Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo. Anthropic sponsored the Sept. 2 event.
What they're saying: "We should be in the solutions business rather than the complaining business," said Bush, who was Florida's governor from 1999-2007.
- "We shouldn't be banning" data centers, he said. "We should be structuring it to the benefit of communities" to create jobs and lower taxes.
- Donalds said guardrails are "incredibly important" as schools adopt AI and tailor learning techniques for the individual student or teacher. Yet she cautioned against overregulation that could "prevent all of these good things as well."
- Gov. Rick DeSantis' pro-regulatory approach to AI is "a good idea," Pardo said. "There is a balance in all of these things," and "you have a lot of people who want to make sure that the … human supervisory element of AI is very much there."
The bottom line: "It's important for us to continue to have progress, and … it's smart to do it the right way," Bush said.
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View From the Top conversation, Anthropic head of U.S. state and local government relations Cesar Fernandez said Florida's AI adoption has immense potential if implemented responsibly.
- "We think that the upside is very clear, and we've demonstrated that we're going to see a tremendous amount of economic growth. We're going to see new breakthroughs in science. But all of that is only possible if we mitigate the downside risks of the technology."
Go deeper: Watch the full event
