The push came because the United States is racing China for the lead in AI, and that race runs on computing power. The push unfortunately ran straight into state and local officials who want those data centers built anywhere but near them. Nationwide, lawmakers are moving to restrict AI based on speculative harms, and every time they do, the public is the one that pays. Algorithmic rental pricing, software that reads local market data and suggests rents, has also become the villain in a dozen statehouses. In fact, in Austin, Texas, rents fell despite the use of this AI because the city rapidly expanded its housing supply.