Artificial intelligence has become an unexpected issue in Florida’s race for governor. Some candidates want to encourage data centers while pressing them to acquire their own nuclear reactors. Others would impose new regulations, require special community subsidies or even halt construction altogether.
The debate is healthy. But it should begin with a simple question: What problems are we trying to solve?
Florida already has the institutions and laws needed to protect consumers while allowing economic growth. Creating new barriers risks sacrificing one of the state’s greatest competitive advantages at precisely the moment AI is reshaping the global economy.
Florida has spent decades becoming one of America’s most technology-friendly states. The University of Florida partnered with NVIDIA to incorporate one of the world’s fastest university supercomputers into research and teaching. Other Florida universities’ researchers are using AI to improve treatments for cancer and heart disease, and to improve patient care. Miami has become a leading digital gateway to Latin America. We should build on that leadership.
A major concern surrounding data centers is electricity. AI requires extraordinary computing power, and computing power requires electricity. Some worry that new data centers will force families to subsidize technology companies through higher utility bills. Fortunately, Florida already has a system designed to prevent exactly that. The Florida Public Service Commission sets utility rates and is already developing pricing structures that ensure large customers pay the costs they create.
Florida also benefits from something many states no longer have: vertically integrated electric utilities that plan generation, transmission and distribution cooperatively, coordinate investments and negotiate effectively with large electricity users.