[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"conference-blog-article-ayanna-pressley-calls-on-tech-innovators-solutions-for-data-center-impacts":3},{"id":4,"author":5,"authors":19,"title":21,"subTitle":15,"excerpt":22,"slug":23,"body":24,"categories":25,"tags":31,"featuredMedia":40,"publishedAt":48,"publishedAtGMT":49,"updatedAt":50,"updatedAtGMT":51,"type":52,"listicle":53,"disableContentGate":54,"disableListicleNumbers":54,"canonicalUrl":15,"socialThumbnail":15,"readingTime":55,"customFields":56,"additional":57,"acf":58},277121,{"id":6,"avatar":7,"firstName":8,"lastName":9,"displayName":10,"email":11,"username":12,"normalizedUsername":13,"description":14,"htmlBio":15,"twitter":16,"facebook":15,"instagram":17,"registeredAt":18},119,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F08\u002Fupdated-headshot-scaled.jpg","Samantha","Dorisca","Samantha Dorisca","samantha.dorisca@blavity.com","SamanthaDorisca","samanthadorisca","Samantha Dorisca is a Houston-based journalist and photographer whose mission is to impact communities through the gift of storytelling using the written word or visual media. She completed her B.A at The University of Texas at Austin and is pursuing a M.A at The University of Memphis. Her work can be found on platforms such as Houstonia Magazine, Girls' Life Magazine, and Blacque Magazine. Samantha mainly reports on tech, trends, and entrepreneurship.","","https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fsammiedormedia","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fsammiedormedia\u002F","2021-08-16T13:14:58+00:00",[20],{"id":6,"avatar":7,"firstName":8,"lastName":9,"displayName":10,"email":11,"username":12,"normalizedUsername":13,"description":14,"htmlBio":15,"twitter":16,"facebook":15,"instagram":17,"registeredAt":18},"Rep. Ayanna Pressley Calls On Tech Innovators To Be Part Of The Best Solutions To Reduce Environmental Impact Of Data Centers","Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley calls on tech innovators to be a part of the best solutions to reduce environmental impact of data centers.","ayanna-pressley-calls-on-tech-innovators-solutions-for-data-center-impacts","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley believes the people most affected by a lack of policy should be the ones best positioned to change it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpressley.house.gov\u002Fabout\u002F\">Pressley\u003C\u002Fa> represents Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District and serves on the Financial Services Committee, which covers issues ranging from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fdiarra-bousso-left-wall-street-to-launch-fashion-brand\">Wall Street\u003C\u002Fa> to housing affordability and cryptocurrency, as well as the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where she leads reparations efforts as the lead sponsor of H.R. 40. At the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Flee-merrit-shares-tips-for-black-professionals-to-be-empowerment-in-workspace\">2026 AFROTECH™ Conference\u003C\u002Fa>, Pressley began by acknowledging the significance of gathering with visionaries working to shape a better future in the wake of the midterm elections. She reminded attendees that “we have always been the defenders of democracy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“A decade, what an incredible achievement and milestone, and on the heels of the election, it feels especially good to be here after Black people did what we always do. We have been the defenders of democracy. … We’ve always been the architects of revolution, of progress. And so to be in this room of tech \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fbad-data-costing-black-lives-afrotech-non-inclusive-data-technology-policies\">entrepreneurs\u003C\u002Fa> and innovators and experts, it just feels so good,” she said on the main stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cfigure id=\"attachment_277185\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-277185\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-277185\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 320w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 1200w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 160w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 1568w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FBenjaminEsakof_AccountabilityAiEconomy_ATC26_Halo-5359-scaled.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"caption-attachment-277185\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benjamin Esakof\u002F Halo Creative Studios for AfroTech\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Pressley also shared some context about Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District, the area she represents. It is home to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fphotographers-used-google-pixel-11-in-culture-in-focus-campaign\">Google\u003C\u002Fa> and Microsoft also have offices in the district. She said the area is seeing the “rapid development and deployment of AI” reflected in how deeply the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fsquire-co-founder-dave-salvant-was-asked-to-hire-non-black-executives\">technology\u003C\u002Fa> is becoming embedded in people’s everyday lives, from phones to hospitals and classrooms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">On policy, Pressley said humans should also be at the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“The Blackest part of my district … life expectancy in that 3-mile radius … it’s a 23-year difference. From Cambridge to Roxbury,” she said. “In median household income, the disparity is about $50,000. So 23-year life expectancy, $50,000. Those sobering statistics, I anchor that in every bill that I author, in every policy decision that I’m considering. The best advice that I received as a freshman member of Congress in 2018 is in the process of legislating and governing to never lose the plot. The plot is the people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">She continued, “When I think about AI and those disparities, I want to make sure that nothing is happening that is compounding those disparities … I care about AI being human first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Pressley, alongside Democratic Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of New York and others, wrote the AI Civil Rights Act, which bars companies from using biased algorithms and establishes stricter transparency requirements. To explain why the bill matters, Pressley pointed to the “so-called Department of Government Efficiency,” which “took a sledgehammer to our federal government workforce and infrastructure.” She said this disproportionately affected Black workers. She believes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the federal government need to recognize that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Ftesla-on-trial-for-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-filed-black-employees\">discrimination\u003C\u002Fa> looks different today than it did in the 1950s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“While all these Black workers have been displaced and are applying for jobs, most HR departments are using AI tools, and we have to make sure that they’re not biased and discriminating. So that is why we need the AI Civil Rights Act. Policy is my love language,” she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">On data centers, she acknowledged that the discourse typically comes from a place of extraction, rather than looking at ways that are “additive and enhancing.” She called for more education and suggested an affirmative model that could be an example of reduced environmental impact. Noting how data centers can provide a service to communities when they move into their area, Pressley pointed to the technology of heat recapture, where data centers can take heat from their servers to heat homes and buildings nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“That’s why we’re here, not only to double down on the problems, on the harm, but to cultivate and to harness the best solutions. That’s why I’m grateful to this room of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fdamian-lillard-co-founded-an-insoles-company-that-reached-8m-in-annual-revenue-last-year\">innovators\u003C\u002Fa>. I practice the ethos that the people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power, driving and informing the policymaking,” Pressley expressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">She later added, “And I have been really heartened by the coalitions that have been building, people from every walk of life, urban and rural, around the issue of data centers. Wouldn’t it be something for them to mobilize around the best models for data centers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">That’s why she emphasized education so community members can participate in solutions. Solutions, she said, will include greater \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fserena-williams-advocated-for-black-women-hires-at-nike\">representation\u003C\u002Fa> in data development and deployment, and more care for transparency, ethics and governance in implementation and passing the AI Civil Rights Act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“Make plain to your representatives that the AI Civil Rights Act is an imperative. Ask them to be a co-sponsor. I’ll take it from there,” she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Freel\u002FDfXliigBSoT\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">\u003Ca style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Freel\u002FDfXliigBSoT\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by AFROTECH™ Conference (@afrotech.conference)\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n",[26],{"id":27,"name":28,"slug":29,"description":15,"image":30},46,"Technology","technology",null,[32,36],{"id":33,"name":34,"slug":35,"description":15,"image":15},8304,"AfroTech Conference","afrotech-conference",{"id":37,"name":38,"slug":39,"description":15,"image":15},297,"AI","ai",{"url":41,"thumbnail":41,"credit":42,"title":43,"alt":15,"type":44,"width":45,"height":46,"mimeType":47},"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAyanna-Pressley.jpg","Benjamin Esakof\u002F Halo Creative Studios for AfroTech","Ayanna Pressley","image",750,422,"image\u002Fjpeg","2026-11-06T21:32:20-05:00","2026-11-07 02:32:20","2026-11-06T21:33:35-05:00","2026-11-07 02:33:35","default",[],false,3,{"disableConnatixPlayer":54},{"disableAd":54,"disableConnatixPlayer":54,"enabledComments":54,"headScript":30,"hidePhotoAttribution":54},{"reviewer_name":15}]