Sen. Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon rarely agree on much. But at a conference in Washington on Tuesday, the progressive senator and the former Trump adviser delivered strikingly similar warnings about the risks artificial intelligence poses to workers, democracy and the future of humanity.
Speaking back-to-back at the Pro-Human Assembly — which was organized by the Future of Life Institute, the nonprofit group responsible for “The Pro-Human AI Declaration” — Sanders (I-Vermont) and Bannon both argued that the country’s most powerful technology companies have gained too much influence over the development of AI and that ordinary Americans have had too little say in how the technology will reshape their lives.
The rise of anti-AI rhetoric among politicians on both sides of the aisle comes as President Donald Trump has continued to push for AI development in the U.S., arguing that the country must rush to beat China in what he sees as an existential race to develop the technology. As lawmakers push for more regulations, Trump argued Monday he’s the only guardrail needed for AI.
Bannon and Sanders’ speeches offered a counterweight to that message, showcasing a surprising bipartisan agreement that’s emerged in recent weeks on the need to rein in the AI industry.
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Sanders focused on economic inequality, workers’ rights and international cooperation. He warned that AI and robotics could eliminate tens of millions of jobs, and said the benefits of the technology must be distributed beyond the wealthy owners of major technology companies.
“The big tech oligarch must no longer be allowed to determine the future of humanity,” Sanders said to cheers.
He has proposed legislation that would give the public a greater role in governing large AI companies, including the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would require half the board members of large AI companies to be appointed by the public.
Sanders has also called for an immediate pause on advanced AI development and said he plans to introduce legislation alongside Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) to permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence, which is AI that surpasses human intelligence and can operate independently, without human control.
Bannon, meanwhile, framed AI primarily through the lens of national security, competition between the U.S. and China and the power of technology companies.
He argued that the United States should slow the development of AI long enough to establish a regulatory framework, but rejected the idea that Washington should permanently halt the technology’s development.
“If you’re not an accelerationist, you’re supporting China,” Bannon said, describing what he sees as the prevailing argument from the AI industry and its allies. He called instead for slowing the pace of development while preventing China from benefiting from American technology.
Sanders took a different approach to AI’s impact on foreign relations. Rather than viewing the technology primarily as a competition between the two countries, he argued that the technology’s most dangerous consequences would transcend national borders.
“A superintelligent AI that escapes human control will not simply be an American problem,” Sanders said. “It will not be a Chinese problem. It will be humanity’s problem.”
Sanders called for Trump to negotiate an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to pause advanced AI development and ban superintelligence, comparing the proposal to Cold War-era nuclear arms control.
Bannon was far more skeptical of cooperation with Beijing. He said the U.S. should first “quarantine” China from the AI ecosystem and only consider an agreement after doing so.
Despite that divide, both speakers returned repeatedly to a common target: the concentration of power in the hands of a small number of technology executives.
Both also warned that the public has been largely excluded from decisions about AI, despite the technology’s potentially enormous consequences.
“I think Senator Sanders did a very good job of summarizing the risk,” Bannon said during his remarks. “Obviously, we may be quite different from the president of the United States, but we’re trying to raise above partisanship.”
The event brought together a mix of activists and lawmakers, including Casar, Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Lori Trahan (D-Massachusetts), Don Beyer (D-Virginia), and Bill Foster (D-Illinois), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut).
Their proposals ranged from calls to halt AI development until it can be regulated to arguments for using the technology in areas such as medicine.
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