Bernie Sanders has warned that Congress and the American public have \u201cnot a clue\u201d about the scale and speed of the coming AI revolution, pressing for urgent policy action to \u201cslow this thing down\u201d as tech companies race to build ever-more powerful systems.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Stanford University on Friday alongside congressman Ro Khanna after a series of meetings with industry leaders in California, Sanders was blunt about what he called the \u201cmost dangerous moment in the modern history of this country\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Congress and the American people are very unprepared for the tsunami that is coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Khanna, a progressive Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, shared Sanders\u2019s concerns, warning that the country was experiencing a \u201cnew gilded age\u201d run by tech billionaires who believe \u201cthey would have been heroic conquerors in a different era\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just not my observation,\u201d Khanna said. \u201cThat\u2019s what they tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khanna and Sanders declined to specify which tech executives they met with during the senator\u2019s visit to California, but the congressman said it was \u201csenior leaders\u201d at the \u201cmost prominent tech companies\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was important for both Senator Sanders to hear from tech leaders and tech leaders to hear from Senator Sanders, who represents and understands the concerns of so many working-class Americans,\u201d Khanna said in an interview after the event.<\/p>\n
During his remarks, Sanders reissued his call for a moratorium<\/a> on the expansion of AI data centers to \u201cslow down the revolution and protect workers\u201d while policymakers catch up.<\/p>\n Khanna does not want<\/a> a moratorium, but has instead pushed to \u201csteer\u201d AI, advocating for the US to adopt a \u201cSingapore model\u201d for data center growth, with an emphasis on renewable energy and water efficiency. In his remarks before an auditorium of mostly students, Khanna outlined seven principles to guard against \u201coligarchic capture and dominance\u201d of wealth generated by AI innovation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must ask not what America can do for Silicon Valley, but what Silicon Valley must do for America,\u201d said the congressman, who is eyed as considering a 2028 presidential bid.<\/p>\n The event capped a days-long visit to California, a state he won in the 2020 presidential primary and where he returned to rally thousands during his Fight Oligarchy tour last year. In Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sanders delivered a scathing denunciation of the \u201cgreed\u201d of the billionaire class<\/a>. There he helped formally launch a campaign for a ballot initiative that would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1bn \u2013 a proposal that has already prompted some ultra-wealthy tech leaders to flee, or threaten to do so.<\/p>\n At Stanford, Sanders focused his remarks on his concerns over how AI would impact not only the labor force but personal wellbeing and people\u2019s ability to interact with one another. He mentioned that a restaurant in DC offered a Valentine\u2019s Day special for people and their \u201cAI buddies\u201d, which drew laughs from the students.<\/p>\n It may seem funny, Sanders said, \u201cbut the truth is that a lot of people are becoming dependent upon AI for their emotional support. What is the long-term impact of that? What is the long-term impact if we lose work as an important part of our lives? What do we do with our lives?\u201d<\/p>\n Sanders read statements from industry leaders who have predicted widespread automation, and cited projections that AI and robotics could eliminate tens of millions of jobs in the coming decade \u2013 from truck drivers to fast\u2011food workers and many white\u2011collar roles.<\/p>\n