Democratic congressional candidate Joy Powers discussed artificial intelligence, health care, education and economic opportunities during a town hall at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville.
Powers, a Bedford County cattle farmer, is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Morgan Griffith of Salem, for Virginia’s 9th Congressional District seat.
Powers said she has long been interested in government and public policy but dislikes the partisan nature of politics.
“I have always been someone who’s loved policy and government but really didn’t like politics so much. I was raised at a bipartisan kitchen table, and so I didn’t understand how polarizing some politics could be until I got a little older. And I can’t stand the argument for the sake of arguing.”
Rather, Powers said she is interested in finding “practical solutions for people.”
Artificial intelligence was among the issues Powers discussed during the town hall, and Powers said she is concerned about the implications of government bailouts for AI companies.
“I think that this entire AI (discussion) that we’re seeing right now is really probably our greatest threat to our country in a couple different ways, domestically here and especially economically,” said Powers. “We’re seeing these huge AI companies that are losing masses of masses of money. So, millions of dollars, like open AI lost $25 billion last year, but they’re still getting taxpayer money. Considering that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see us have that collapse of the AI industry. I have a huge concern that those companies are going to turn around and ask for bailouts.”
Powers also said she believes more regulation is needed to address the environmental effects of facilities supporting artificial intelligence and to protect children from harmful AI-generated content.
“We don’t have laws in place to make them build cleaner, better facilities. So, you know, when we look at Google, for example, the sites that they’re building in this country versus the sites that they’re building in other countries, they’re completely different, because countries like Finland require them by law, to make certain environmental standards. We as a country have to do that,” Powers said of establishing environmental standards. “And I think that we also have to really make sure we go to politicians … and we need to be pushing elected officials at every single level of government, local, state, and federal, about their stances on these issues.”
She said that AI is a threat to the production of content harmful to children.
“We saw an appellate court come back and say that, you know, child pornography produced by AI is actually legal. That is extremely terrifying. I think that’s making every parent double think where they’re posting their child’s image. And we know that these models are taking not only money from taxpayers, but they’re also taking intelligence,” Powers said.
“They are being trained on the things that we write, that we do in our own emails. And so, we absolutely have to have regulations around them, and we need to be pushing elected officials at every single level of government, local, state, and federal, about their stances on these issues,” she added.
Health care, particularly access to maternal care in rural areas, was another concern Powers discussed.
“When we have a healthcare system that’s based on making profits for healthcare executives, we’re going to lose the quality of care, and that’s the point we’re at in this district,” Powers said.
Powers said she believes more must be done to preserve access to maternal health care in the 9th District.
She also discussed Griffith’s decision not to participate in debates proposed by her campaign. Powers challenged Griffith to three debates in August, and Griffith declined the proposal.
Powers said economic opportunity is another significant concern, particularly for young people who want to remain in Southwest and Southside Virginia.
“I think one of the most heartbreaking stories, and I hear it over and over and over again, is when I either talk to a parent who never gets to see their adult children because they had to move out of their district. Or I talk to young people who don’t want to leave, but have to, because they don’t have opportunities to build a good life here in the ninth district,” Powers said.
Powers also addressed political ideology during the town hall, distancing herself from democratic socialism and saying she believes political extremism should be a concern to voters.
Education was another focus of the discussion. Powers, a public school parent, said she supports investment in public schools as well as opportunities for students interested in college or career and technical education.
“I think that there’s a tendency to say our schools are struggling, so let’s take funding away from them. I think that needs to be the exact opposite. We need to invest in our schools,” she said.
Powers also emphasized the importance of protecting special education programs and providing different educational paths for students.
She said she frequently hears from residents of Southside and Southwest Virginia who believe the region has been overlooked by both political parties.
“I have heard a lot of people from South, Southside and Southwest talk about how they feel forgotten by both parties,” Powers said, adding that her campaign is focused on addressing the needs of residents of the district rather than partisan politics.
