Ro Khanna on AI and the Rise of a New Epstein Class

Walking through Chicago’s West Loop near the intersection of Randolph and Morgan Streets, you can’t help but notice the construction cranes dotting the skyline – not for luxury condos this time, but for massive data centers being fast-tracked by developers eyeing the city’s strategic fiber optic corridors and proximity to major financial exchanges. This very tangible expansion of AI infrastructure hits close to home for residents who remember when the Merchandise Mart was simply a wholesale hub, not a nerve center for algorithmic trading. The national conversation sparked by Congressman Ro Khanna’s warnings about an emerging “Epstein class” of untouchable tech elites takes on urgent local significance here, where the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor along the Eisenhower Expressway is seeing unprecedented investment in AI server farms that promise both economic transformation and profound disruption to established neighborhoods.

The concerns raised during that National Press Club interview resonate powerfully in a city still grappling with the legacy of industrial decline and the uneven recovery that followed. When Khanna questioned why figures like Les Wexner or Leon Black face no meaningful investigation despite their connections to Jeffrey Epstein’s network, he was articulating a frustration familiar to organizers in Pilsen and Little Village who’ve watched corporate accountability evaporate while community resources dwindle. The pattern is disturbingly similar: concentrated wealth enabling avoidance of scrutiny, whether through opaque legal maneuvers in New York or through the strategic siting of polluting industries in Chicago’s South and West Sides. Now, as AI firms position themselves to capitalize on Chicago’s role as a global logistics hub, the fear isn’t just about job displacement – it’s about whether the regulatory frameworks meant to prevent another era of unchecked power will be strong enough to withstand the lobbying influence of firms whose valuations could soon eclipse the city’s entire annual budget.

This anxiety is amplified by Chicago’s specific vulnerabilities. The city’s pension funds, already under strain, are increasingly pressured to chase the high returns promised by AI venture funds, potentially putting retirees’ security at stake in speculative bets. Meanwhile, community colleges like Malcolm X College on the West Side report growing demand for AI literacy programs, yet struggle to secure partnerships with tech firms that often prioritize recruiting from elite coastal institutions rather than investing in local talent pipelines. The disparity is stark when you consider that while the University of Chicago and Northwestern attract significant AI research funding, institutions serving predominantly Black and Latino students on the South and West Sides receive a fraction of that support, raising questions about who will truly benefit from the impending technological shift.

Historical parallels offer sobering context. Just as the original Gilded Age saw industrial barons amass fortunes while resisting meaningful regulation – leading to events like the Haymarket affair that reshaped labor relations – today’s AI boom risks creating a new dynamic where innovation outpaces accountability. The difference now is the velocity and scale: where steel magnates once dominated specific sectors, AI’s potential to permeate everything from healthcare diagnostics at Cook County Hospital to traffic management along the Dan Ryan Expressway means its controllers could exert influence across virtually every aspect of urban life. Second-order effects are already emerging, as seen in the rising tension around water usage in communities near proposed data center sites in Gary, Indiana – a resource concern that could easily mirror conflicts in Arizona or Nevada but play out in Chicago’s backyard given the region’s reliance on Lake Michigan.

Given my background in analyzing systemic economic shifts, if this trend impacts you in Chicago, here are the three types of local professionals you need to understand. First, seek out **Community Technology Advocates** – these aren’t just IT specialists but professionals who work with organizations like the Metropolitan Planning Council or Local Initiatives Support Corporation to ensure tech development includes meaningful community benefit agreements, specifically demanding local hiring commitments and transparent data usage policies. Second, connect with **Algorithmic Impact Assessors** – often affiliated with university policy centers or specialized nonprofits, they can help neighborhood groups and tiny businesses evaluate how proposed AI systems might affect everything from loan approvals at community banks to predictive policing tools, focusing on practitioners who use frameworks like the Algorithmic Impact Assessment developed by organizations such as AI Now Institute. Third, engage with **Equitable Development Economists** – look for experts affiliated with institutions like the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional Economics Applications Laboratory or local think tanks such as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, who specialize in modeling how technological transitions affect specific wards and neighborhoods, particularly those skilled in disaggregating data by race, income, and geography to prevent averages from masking disparate impacts.

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