On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized AI executives over political spending, arguing that companies warning about the technology’s risks should not simultaneously support efforts against lawmakers seeking stronger AI safeguards.
Sanders Calls Out AI Industry Political Spending
"My message to the AI CEO’s: If you truly care about the future of humanity, stop pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into super PACs to defeat Members of Congress and candidates who are fighting for serious guardrails on AI," Sanders said.
In an accompanying video, Sanders argued that executives concerned about AI safety should respect voters’ ability to determine how the technology is regulated.
"Stop the hypocrisy," Sanders said.
Altman, Musk Back AI Safety Concerns
Sanders’ comments came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slower pace of frontier AI development, warning that increasingly capable AI agents could create significant cybersecurity risks.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk endorsed Amodei’s concerns, writing on X, "Dario is right."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman similarly said, "I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier," while backing independent evaluators with access to AI developers’ research processes.
Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis also said the broad direction of Amodei’s proposal was appropriate, although he noted that details still needed to be worked out.
Trump Pushes Back On AI Slowdown
President Donald Trump has taken a different position, arguing that the U.S. needs to maintain its lead over China in AI and that excessive regulation could weaken that advantage.
Trump has also dismissed concerns about AI systems becoming uncontrollable, calling fears about robots taking over "all a hoax."
Meanwhile, Chinese security officials have warned that AI could create risks involving misinformation, cyberattacks, espionage and military competition.
Musk Has Spent Millions Backing Trump
Musk spent nearly $250 million supporting Trump during the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, while also endorsing Trump at several public events.
In August, it was reported that Musk planned to spend between $100 million and $120 million to support at least eight Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections through his super PAC, America PAC.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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