Exclusive: Sanders calls for AI development pause
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Sanders on June 17. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is urging leading AI CEOs to pause AI development, warning that lawmakers will step in if no action is taken.
Why it matters: Sanders is upping the ante on the AI industry ahead of the elections, building on his progressive playbook that is shaping how some candidates message around the issue.
What they're saying: "Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development. It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control," Sanders wrote in a letter shared first with Axios.
- "Let me be very clear: If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will."
- The letter was sent to OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.
Sanders cited previous statements from each company saying they would stop or pause development if their AI systems became too risky to safely control.
- "At a moment when we have seen human loss of control and the creation of potentially dangerous viruses, your companies are still racing ahead — investing tens of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully understand, predict or control," Sanders said.
The big picture: Rapid advances in AI capabilities have sparked newfound alarm in recent weeks after researchers used AI to develop new viruses and Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic all reported incidents in which models went rogue. Sanders cited both developments in his letter.
- Last week, OpenAI chose to slow down the release of its latest model Astra.
- More than 1,200 employees at leading AI companies are calling for the U.S. government to support an international effort to pace AI development.
Between the lines: AI legislation, especially efforts led by a progressive like Sanders, is unlikely to garner enough support in this Congress to become law.
The bottom line: Look to messaging bills and public pressure campaigns for now — and, if Democrats retake either chamber, congressional investigations and subpoenas to hold tech CEOs accountable.
