Shocking, but true. Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders actually agree on something: we need tighter restrictions on AI before it’s too late.

According to Jeremy W. Peters and Cecilia Kang in The New York Times (Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders Condemn Tech ‘Oligarchs’ and Demand A.I. Reforms, available here), Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders on Tuesday denounced the billionaires who run the country’s largest tech companies and urged Americans to demand tighter restrictions on artificial intelligence before its capabilities exceed human control in (as the authors put it) “thundering, back-to-back speeches”.

According to the article: “Everyone attending the event, the Pro-Human Assembly, seemed in agreement about the threat that A.I. may someday wipe out humanity. But for a few hours, A.I. produced a less catastrophic outcome: It united the participants — Republican and Democratic politicians, evangelical Christian, Mormon and Catholic leaders, artists and others — in agreement that human beings, not machines, should control their own destinies.”

There’s even a “Pro-Human AI Declaration” depicted in a picture from the event that people can sign, which showed 1,127,002 signatories – their site (which also lists organizations and famous individuals who have endorsed) shows the number is up to 1,171,987 (it went up over 500 just while I was working on this post).

The conference, which was hosted by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, drew several hundred people who listened to hours of speeches about the deepening anxiety in Silicon Valley, Washington and beyond about the race to rein in AI before its computing power becomes unstoppable.

A slogan embroidered on hats being handed out to attendees captured the sentiment shared by most carbon-based life-forms in the room: “Keep the future human.”

As I discussed yesterday, such concerns have intensified with surprising speed lately – even from leaders of the AI companies themselves.

Seven in 10 Americans said they are afraid AI will weaken human bonds, according to a poll released this week by Elon University (no relation to “that” Elon), and about six in 10 say AI’s potential to take over most human tasks will undermine an individual’s sense of purpose. A separate poll from The New York Times found that 61 percent of likely voters oppose the construction of data centers, the massive warehouses that power AI.

Sanders has introduced legislation to pause development of data centers and called for President Trump to form an accord with the president of China, Xi Jinping, to ban superintelligent AI.

Bannon said he doesn’t believe legislation will slow down AI because of Congress’ inaction. Instead, he called for presidential executive order to slow down development and ensure the biggest tech firms aren’t able to extend their power through their grip on the AI industry.

Doesn’t sound like that will happen anytime soon. On Monday, President Trump dismissed calls for safety guardrails on AI, calling fears of the technology “a hoax”, writing on social media that the industry already has the only guardrail it needs: “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.”

Just reporting the news here, folks. 😉

Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders actually agree on something. Has hell frozen over? Just checking.

So, what do you think? Do you think we need government intervention to slow down AI development? If we get it, will it matter? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using ChatGPT, using the term “confused robot devil standing in hell, which has frozen over”.

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