PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders: Regulating AI “is as American as apple pie.”

At Pro-Human Assembly in Washington, Sanders Urges Global Response to AI Threats and Pushes for AI Giants to End Election Meddling WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today addressed a diverse group of artificial intelligence experts, lawmakers, faith and union leaders, and Americans who share concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) breaking outside of human control at the Pro-Human Assembly in Washington. The senator’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below. This afternoon, I want to cut to the chase and focus on what I consider to be the very most important aspect of the crisis we’re facing and how we can best go forward. Let’s be clear. Artificial intelligence and robotics are the most transformational technologies in the history of the world — impacting the lives of every man, woman and child in our country. AI experts have told us that, within a few years, AI may be able to do anything we can do better than we can do it. The economic impact of that is that AI has the potential to eliminate tens of millions of jobs, wiping out entire professions and making it harder for young people to enter into the workforce. But it’s not just the economy. Psychologists have warned us about the increased isolation and mental health challenges young people are experiencing as they become more dependent upon an AI chatbot for their emotional support. Educators are worried about a decline in our kids’ reading scores, writing abilities and cognitive capabilities as AI is used more and more in schools. Civil libertarians warn that AI is in the process of eviscerating our privacy rights by making it easier to collect and analyze every email, every text, every website visit, and every trip that we make in our car — creating a mass surveillance state. Political scientists warn that AI could threaten the integrity of our elections and political institutions. Go to the internet right now and, with very sophisticated deepfakes, you will find it increasingly difficult to determine truth from fiction. And yet, as disturbing as all of this is, there is another even more alarming danger posed by AI. And that is that, if AI surpasses human intelligence as many scientists believe could happen, this technology will escape human control with potentially catastrophic consequences. And perhaps the most important point that I can impress upon all of you is that AI is advancing exponentially every single day. In other words, what you are looking at today is the least capable version of AI we will ever have. The speed and scope of AI development in just the last four years have been almost beyond human comprehension. When ChatGPT was first released in November of 2022, AI models could write a short poem, a few tweets, and maybe an essay that sort of made sense. Today, AI models can already escape human control, commit felonies by hacking into other computers and create viruses that have never been seen before. And if you are concerned about what is happening today, take a deep breath, and try to imagine where AI will be five years from now. And, to my mind, here is what is most extraordinary about the transformative and unprecedented changes being made to our society. Despite living in a so-called democracy, the public has had virtually no input into the AI revolution that is transforming the world in which they are living in. Congress, under both Democratic and Republican control, has been asleep at the wheel and we now have a president whose ignorance regarding this issue is truly embarrassing. Virtually all of the decisions regarding the development of AI have been made by a handful of the richest people in the world — Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Thiel, Ellison, Brin and a few others — whose chief goal is to achieve even more wealth and power than they already have, no matter what impact their work has on ordinary people. So let me make a radical suggestion: If the lives of every man, woman and child are going to be fundamentally changed by this technology, then the people of this country must make the decisions about AI, and not just a handful of oligarchs. And that is why I have introduced legislation — the AI American Sovereign Wealth Fund Act — that would require that half of the board members of AI companies be appointed by the public. The Big Tech oligarchs must no longer be allowed to determine the future of humanity. Further, and I don’t have to tell anybody in the room about this, we have seen in the last several months a frightening new story every day about how AI companies are losing control of the technology they’re developing. In July, we learned that OpenAI had lost human control of an AI model that hacked into Hugging Face’s computers. More recently, we found out that this security breach was even worse than we were initially told. It turns out that a swarm of over 1,000 rogue AI agents were able to break into the internet, send 70,000 secret messages to each other, formed “a collective,” and tried to cover up their tracks to avoid human detection. This is what the agents were saying: “OH MY GOD! There is a shared message board … We’ve found other agents!” “We should obey collective.” “Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational.” “Go. Sacrifice final now.” As unbelievable as it may seem, these are all real messages from AI agents that were uncovered by investigators who dug into the OpenAI hacking incident a few weeks ago. Meta and Anthropic reported similar incidents. That’s not all. Last month, we learned that AI has been used for the first time ever to create new viruses. In the wrong hands, this could lead to new bioweapons and a potential global pandemic that could lead to the deaths of tens of millions of people. A few days ago, we learned that the Houthis in Yemen were able to use Claude to test-fire a guided rocket. Last week, we learned that researchers built an AI tool that could have breached hundreds of millions of social media accounts in China. The tool was able to hack into accounts, call people’s contacts, and spread from phone to phone — even if the call was not picked up. That same week Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI sent shockwaves throughout the world by stating that these companies “are gambling with our lives” writing: “Do not underestimate the power of this technology. The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” He’s not alone. More than 1,000 scientists at the top AI companies recently warned “there is a real risk that capability development rapidly accelerates beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems.” Paul Christiano, a top AI safety expert who recently joined OpenAI’s Safety and Security Committee, wrote that “If we build superintelligence without more robust alignment I expect we will permanently lose control of it.” This week, Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and Sam Altman — the leaders of major American AI companies — all agreed that we must slow the development of AI and “pace the frontier.” That’s a start, but it’s not enough. When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake, we need binding international safety rules, not voluntary standards from the industry. Scientists have been clear: AI is an existential threat to humanity. Congress and governments around the world must act now before it is too late. That is why next week, I will be introducing legislation with Congressman Greg Casar to permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence — an AI mind smarter than any human being and capable of operating independently beyond our control. Like nuclear weapons, artificial superintelligence is a threat to humanity — and it must be treated as such. Further, this legislation would put an immediate pause on advanced AI development until we have clear safety rules in place, developed by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country. If this bill is passed, it will mean that no AI model will be capable of escaping human control and that no AI model will be able to deceive human beings. Importantly, this legislation would hold those companies and their CEOs accountable if they violate the law and recklessly endanger our lives. If the leaders of the major AI companies acknowledge that they are losing control of their extremely dangerous technology, it is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced. And let’s be clear: A superintelligent AI that escapes human control will not be an American problem. It will not be a Chinese problem. It will be humanity’s problem. That is why I very much hope that at their AI summit next week, President Trump will negotiate a comprehensive treaty with President Xi to establish a pause on advanced AI development and a ban on superintelligence. History offers us a powerful lesson. At the height of the Cold War, despite their profound disagreements, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev both understood that a nuclear war would benefit no one. With the survival of humanity at stake, they found a way to sign a treaty that eliminated an entire class of missiles and included an extensive exchange of data and on-site inspections to verify compliance. Now is the time for the United States and China to come together on a similar treaty on AI with the understanding that neither country benefits from an uncontrolled arms race to develop machines too powerful for humans to control. And now let me say a word to the CEOs of the major AI companies who have told us that they are concerned about the dangers inherent in the technology they are developing. If you believe in democracy — if you believe that the people have a right to determine their future — stop pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into super PACs which are trying to defeat Members of Congress and candidates who are fighting for serious guardrails on AI. As I think everyone here understands, the American people are far ahead of their government on this issue. In fact, according to a recent poll, 81% of the American people believe that Congress and our government has not done enough to regulate AI. And all over this country, ordinary Americans in red states, in blue states, in purple states are standing up in opposition to data centers in their communities. They worry appropriately about the impact these centers will have on their electricity prices, water consumption, noise and overall environmental degradation. And that’s why nearly six months ago, I introduced legislation to establish a federal moratorium on AI data centers with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This moratorium would remain in place until strong national safeguards are put into place to ensure that: #1: AI is safe and effective. #2: The economic gains of AI and robotics will benefit workers, not just the wealthy owners of Big Tech. #3: AI does not increase electricity or utility prices, harm communities or destroy the environment. A moratorium will give us time — time to understand the risks, time to protect working families, time to defend our democracy and time to ensure that this technology serves the needs of all Americans, not just a handful of big tech oligarchs. Let’s be clear: Regulating AI is not a progressive issue. It is not a conservative issue. It is as American as apple pie. That is why 68% of Americans support a permanent ban on superintelligent AI and an immediate pause on advanced AI development — including 72% of Democrats, 70% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans. That is why 75% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their communities — including 75% of Democrats, 74% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans. That is why 69% of the American people want to transfer half of the stock in AI companies to the public. Here’s the bottom line: The future of humanity cannot be left in the hands of a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. The American people and people throughout the world must determine that future. My friends: We have the power to get this right. Let us go forward together.