Bernie Sanders warns everyone about AI, quoting the world’s “biggest” AI scientist:Bernie Sanders posted a lengthy statement on X this week, citing some of the most prominent voices in AI research, arguing that the technology poses risks far beyond job losses and privacy concerns. At the heart of his warning is the possibility that AI may someday exceed human intelligence and operate completely beyond human control.Sanders quoted Yoshua Bengio, widely considered the world’s most cited living scientist, as saying that the AI race is “playing with fire” and that researchers still don’t know how to keep machines from turning against humans. He also cited the words of Nobel Prize-winning “godfather of AI” Jeffrey Hinton, who puts the probability that AI will wipe out humanity at between 10 and 20 percent.
Bernie Sanders says Congress is silent on the existential risks of AI
Those are not fringe voices. That’s exactly why Sanders is frustrated by Washington’s near-silence. He pointed to a now-famous 2023 open letter signed by more than 1,000 AI experts, including Elon Musk, asking whether humanity should “automate all jobs, including fulfilling jobs,” or “develop non-human intelligence that may eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete, and replace humans.” Three years later, there is no pause in AI development, no international AI treaty, and no serious debate in Congress about the existential threat, Sanders said.“Was there a serious debate in Congress about this existential crisis? No,” he wrote flatly.His concerns go beyond the worst-case scenario. Sanders has spent months sounding the alarm about the impending everyday harms of AI: the 54,000 layoffs in the US it will cause in 2024 alone, the proven impact on children’s emotional and cognitive well-being, and the steady erosion of digital privacy. These are not hypotheses. They are already happening.
Sanders welcomes U.S. and Chinese AI scientists to Capitol Hill in unprecedented bipartisan push
To move the conversation forward, Sanders announced he would host a debate on Capitol Hill with leading AI researchers from both the United States and China. This is a deliberate nod to international cooperation at a moment of intense geopolitical conflict. The event was made available to the public through a livestream on his social media.His broader legislative push, including a Senate bill co-sponsored with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that would call for an immediate moratorium on new AI data center construction until strong federal safeguards are in place, has gone from a fringe idea to mainstream policy discussion in a matter of months.
Read Bernie Sanders’ full statement
“Nearly every day, new headlines are published about how AI is transforming the world, from displacing workers to harming the mental and cognitive health of children, eviscerating our privacy, and threatening the integrity of our political systems.While these changes may seem significant, there is another AI development that could have even more dire implications. AI scientists are increasingly concerned that if AI becomes smarter than humans, we will lose control of this revolutionary technology and that AI could turn against us, with devastating consequences.“We’re playing with fire,” says Joshua Bengio, the world’s most cited living scientist. “We don’t know yet how to be sure.” [the machines] Jeffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning godfather of AI, says, “There’s a 10% to 20% chance of that happening.” [for AI] To wipe us out. ”they are not alone. In 2023, more than 1,000 leading AI experts, including Elon Musk, signed a letter warning: “As modern AI systems are now able to compete with humans in common tasks, we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and lies? Should we automate all jobs, even challenging ones? Should we develop non-human minds that may eventually outnumber, become smarter, become obsolete and be replaced? Should we take the risk? Have we lost control of our civilization?”What has happened since that letter was written? Has AI development ever paused? no. Has there been an international treaty regulating AI? No. Has there ever been a serious debate in Congress about this existential threat? No.The development of artificial intelligence may be the most important technological development in human history. We must ensure that AI benefits humanity, not harms it.On Wednesday, I will be hosting a discussion on Capitol Hill with leading AI scientists from the United States and China about the existential risks posed by AI and the need for international cooperation. Please join us in person or via live stream on my social media. ”–Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders)
