In a remarkable demonstration of how artificial intelligence is disrupting traditional political battle lines, progressive stalwart Sen. Bernie Sanders and longtime MAGA strategist Steve Bannon gave back-to-back speeches at a gathering focused on reining in the rapidly developing technology.
Bannon, an architect of President Donald Trump’s political machine, and Sanders, a leader in the modern-day democratic socialist movement, both advocated for stronger regulations. Each underscored jarring concerns about how AI could pose a risk to jobs, national security and even humanity itself, although they had different proposals to avoid such consequences.
“I think Senator Sanders did a very good job of summarizing the risk. Obviously, he and I have a quite different opinion of the president of the United States,” said Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, during his speech, “but we’re trying to raise above partisanship, and we have to.”
The Pro-Human Assembly, which has been in the works for months, follows a succession of escalating discourse on the power of AI in recent days after a whistleblower from Anthropic went public with insight into how the technology could go rogue, potentially controlling military-grade weaponry or other critical infrastructure.
That led other tech titans, including Open AI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Space X’s Elon Musk and DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, to commit to slowing down advancements in their technology. Trump responded with a tirade against so-called doomerism, describing the fears as overblown and “a hoax” pushed by Democrats.
“Look, it is embarrassing, really I think, going beyond politics, how ignorant this president is about the dangers of AI,” Sanders told MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner after his remarks. “I would hope that the people around him, many of whom are not ignorant, will tell him that he has got to sign that legislation.”
The Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for technological advancements that benefit humanity, hosted the event, which also featured a variety of speakers from both sides of the aisle, including Freedom Caucus leader Chip Roy, R-Texas; Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas; and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass.
Celebrities, including Ashley Judd and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, also joined the discussion, along with faith leaders and child-safety advocates. Parents of children who died by suicide after chatting with AI bots online also gave emotional pleas for restrictions
The broad coalition highlighted growing public backlash against the technology, which has become a flashpoint in the midterm elections. A New York Times/Siena College poll published Wednesday showed the majority of Americans oppose data centers that are driving up electricity costs, as well as polluting nearby communities.
It remains to be seen whether the momentum will translate into real change. Lawmakers have proposed dozens of bills to regulate the technology comprehensively, but all have stalled in Congress. Bannon notably advocated for executive action, which aligns with Trump’s preference after he said a “High IQ” president can manage oversight.
“Bernie’s prescription is not Chip Roy’s prescription, and almost never will be,” Roy told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t mind being out there talking about things and raising questions that are across the spectrum. We need to raise the questions in order to come up with the right solutions.”
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