Four candidates for the 2nd District seat in Congress answered the Chronicle’s invitation to do one-on-one interviews: Yumeka Brown, Jesse Jackson Jr., Donna Miller and Willie Preston. The conversations focused mostly on 2nd District issues, including economic development, jobs, healthcare and affordability, but we also asked about two national issues they will face if elected: The impact of AI on the economy and workforce and the restoration of Congress as a co-equal branch of government.
As AI technologies continue to advance, how can Congress be part of the process of transforming our economy and protecting workers? (Note: AI development is moving so fast that it will be worth considering these comments were made the first week of February. The situation could be very different by the time you read this.)
Donna Miller: It’s not going to be robots developing the technology themselves. So there is human input. That’s why we have to have better training for the next generation to come up and know how they can fit themselves into what the jobs of the future look like. I think that Congress has a role in setting the standards of what that looks like.
Jesse Jackson Jr.: I believe in responsible AI. So bringing $600 billion of activity into the AI economy to lift the burden off of people whose lives and trajectories and careers are changed as a result of a family member who’s fallen sick, is something we ought to give some consideration to. That would, from my perspective, be considered a responsible use of AI. There is a role for the federal government in ensuring that everything in Silicon Valley isn’t in affluent communities, that communities that are historically left behind can leverage the fact that they are not growing, to demand that AI considers investing in our communities.
Yumeka Brown: I embrace technology, but I definitely think you need a balance, because one thing that AI does not have is sensitivity, compassion. I work in the healthcare space and there is technology for doctors to use AI. But I don’t want AI diagnosing me with anything. We can’t have a world without people. That is impossible.
The other concern that I have is really environmental, because the AI takes a lot of data and these data centers take a lot of water. One thing for sure that I know is that we can’t have a world without water. We need to have federal mandates on how many data centers are popping up in various communities. And also ensuring that these data centers are not popping up in Black and brown communities, because that’s what we see a lot. I believe Congress’ role is to have mandates on environmental justice, also protecting our environment as well as protecting people.
Willie Preston: This is all coming on pretty rapidly. I rely on subject matter experts in areas that I haven’t studied. I will say there is a couple of challenges that we have as a nation. We cannot lose the technology war because that will be an abandonment of our national security interest. I want to make sure that we are able to be competitive while at the same time, I think that the general belief for most Americans is that we don’t want to allow anything that’s going to kill us all. Also make sure that the next generation has the tools and that they’re equipped to actually lead it and understand it.
Congressional effectiveness has weakened over recent decades. The Trump administration has taken executive power to new levels. How can the authority of Congress be restored to its former status as a functioning co-equal branch of government?
Willie Preston: What I consider to be the largest threat to democracy is this very blatant, quite frankly, very brilliant attempt by Trump to be able to challenge every single norm that we have. I think what this has gifted us with, however, is an opportunity for us to have some strong considerations about the Supreme Court. We need to evolve the Supreme Court, because what we realized is, is that it’s been stacked, and the whole premise of the Supreme Court and the lifetime appointments provision is to make that institution the ultimate balancer between the executive and the Congress. This is a Republican Supreme Court, that in and of itself is an oxymoron that is dangerous and unprecedented, and it’s one that will not stand up to this moment.
I’m going to, as a practice, continue what I’ve been doing here in the state legislature if elected to Congress and walk across the aisle. I’m going to work with every individual that I can and truly try to build relationships, I’ll invite Republicans to the 2nd Congressional District. I’ll welcome an invitation to go to Republican districts.
Yumeka Brown: I do believe that we need to take our government back. I’ve been reading the Constitution and when I look at the preamble of the Constitution, it says “We, the people.” So the government really truly belongs to the people, but what’s happening over time is that people don’t trust the government, so it’s going to be a tough fight. You really need a fighter in Washington. When you look back at history, we fought for so many things and all of those things are being repealed.
Jesse Jackson Jr.: I came into the House of Representatives in a Congress where you almost couldn’t get anything done. And yet I reached out across the aisle, I found commonality with people who might have felt some kind of way about Jesse Jackson Jr. but had no problem when they got to know me. … I worked with Democrats and Republicans to get things done.
The Bill of Rights doesn’t go far enough in terms of education, healthcare, housing, the environment. I don’t need democratic socialism. I need the constitutional right to a public education of equal, high quality. If the 14th Amendment could have delivered it by now, it would have. It respects our citizenship rights as human beings to some degree. It too is under attack. At this hour we need more specific citizenship rights added to the Constitution of the United States so that more people can restore their faith in the Constitution. I’ve got to be able to go to the Constitution and get healthcare, not just a gun. I’ve got to be able to go to the Constitution and get a clean, safe and sustainable environment and not more ICE policing.
Donna Miller: Where we are right now, no one’s ever been. … We all have to be unified. We all have to follow the rules, but that’s not happening. I think also we have to have more public outcry. And we do see that working. It’s hard work, but people are engaged. People are paying attention, and people aren’t going to stand for it. We don’t want our country to lose its democracy.
