From opposite sides of the political spectrum, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Trump administration strategist Steve Bannon will both lead what they are calling a "pro-human" rally on Tuesday, Sept. 15, in D.C. to warn of the dangers posed by artificial intelligence.
Sanders, the Vermont senator and leading democratic socialist, and Bannon, the far-right media strategist and President Donald Trump ally, are an unlikely duo to share the stage in Washington, D.C., illuminating the AI concerns that are spanning both sides of the aisle. The event brings together AI experts, lawmakers and advocates to "share concerns about the technology breaking outside of human control," according to Sanders' office.
In the past week, after an Anthropic employee resigned,
warning that AI could one day wipe out humanity, tech leaders and member of Congress have called for slowing down AI. On Monday, Sept. 14, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill to find intense pressure on both sides of the aisle to act quickly. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-New York, called for an immediate, all-senators classified briefing with Trump administration officials about their plans for AI regulation. The House, meanwhile, is planning to pass a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting Americans' energy costs from increasing because of data centers.
Bannon and Sanders speak out on AI
Bannon's "War Room" podcast on Monday, Sept. 14, discussed AI and features conversations with anti-AI activist Joe Allen during which the two spoke about the recent alarms and slammed tech "oligarchs" who Bannon said "can't be trusted at all."
"The American people are not going to be supplicants to these tech oligarchs who have run the deal and lied," Bannon said.
"They call us fearmongers," Allen alleged. "They called the doomers 'fearmongers,' but what they're trying to do is gin up fear of any kind of political response, any kind of public outcry or backlash because they are either heavily invested in these industries or they are using them to basically float as businesses."
Allen returned for an afternoon show and pushed back against the "Bernie Sanders superintelligence ban," in an episode titled "SANDERS MOVES TO BAN ASI" – or artificial super intelligence.
Sanders said on Sept. 10 in a post on X that he planned to propose legislation with Texas Rep. Greg Casar "to pause advanced AI and ban superintelligence altogether."
"When the future of humanity is at stake we need a PAUSE on advanced AI development and a ban on artificial superintelligence – an AI mind smarter than any human and capable of operating independently beyond our control," Sanders said on Sept. 12 in another X post, which also noted that tech leaders, including Elon Musk, "now agree that we must slow down the development of AI."
The event will also feature conservative lawmaker Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and two Texans on opposite sides of the political spectrum: Reps. Chip Roy, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, and Casar, a Democrat and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Trump continues to side with AI
Trump continues to double down on his support for AI and controversial data centers, calling recent alarms on the technology a "hoax."
"I am the Hoax Buster, and I’m right now breaking another Hoax – That AI is going to take over, consume, and destroy the World, and that Robots will be marching into our Cities, and getting rid of us all," Trump wrote in a Sept. 14 Truth Social post. "This is even wilder than the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, or the Global Warming Scam."
Contributing: Zachary Schermele
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steve Bannon, Bernie Sanders and when AI becomes the super villain
