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KH Kathy Hochul Kathy Hochul Kathy Hochul is the Democratic governor of New York, in office since 2021.

“Make it less evil, and people will adapt and adjust and understand this. And the companies are complicit in this sense of we can do what we want because we're so big. And Americans, when they go to vote, want people who are going to stand up and not just roll over.”

Decoder with Nilay Patel · Tech Strategy & Big Tech · August 2026

“Make it less evil, and people will adapt and adjust and understand this. And the companies are complicit in this sense of we can do what we want because we're so big. And Americans, when they go to vote, want people who are going to stand up and not just roll over.” — Kathy Hochul, Decoder with Nilay Patel

Context

Closing answer on Decoder, where Hochul, running for reelection in 2026, says data centers are what frighten Americans about AI. She argues Democrats can win by showing they understand voters' anxiety about jobs and the future.

Transcript

Decoder with Nilay Patel Around 48:02 into the episode
Kathy Hochul

We just talk about the fact that the Buffalo Bills stayed in Buffalo. I fought hard. Look,

Nilay Patel

I'm a Packers fan. What do you think the Bears should do? We got another hour on that. I

Kathy Hochul

…of Americans. And I know that people are very anxious about their future, their jobs, how they're going to take care of their families in a world where AI seems to be so ever-present. And it is that data center that scares them. We can do more to shape that, make sure that people understand, you know, that's, in one sense, a necessary evil, but that evil doesn't have to be as evil as it is. Make it less evil, and people will adapt and adjust and understand this. And the companies are complicit in this sense of we can do what we want because we're so big. And Americans, when they go to vote, want people who are going to stand up and not just roll over. They have a president and Republicans in Congress, my Republican opponent, who are rolling over, trying to kids evil that no, this is good. When in fact, you have people like me and some others who are saying, let's do this smart. Let's be thoughtful about this. I'm not going to roll over. I don't roll over for anybody. That's the impact on the elections. Democrats are going to win.

Nilay Patel

Well, Governor, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for implying that I'm young. That was very nice of you. I really appreciate it. I'd like to thank the governor for taking time to speak with me, and thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. Jack, let us know what you thought about…

Speaker 2

When it comes to AI, there is what we could do

Speaker 1

and what we should do. What will we decide? I'm Kimberly Nevilla, host of the Pondering AI Podcast from SAS. Every episode, I sit down with innovators. Researchers, and technologists to consider the questions that come after the AI breakthroughs. Questions that don't have easy answers but need to…

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.

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