Bernie Sanders rants about ‘Big Tech oligarchs’ taking charge of AI development

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) displayed an apocalyptic tone in voicing fears about the dangers of artificial intelligence and bashed leaders of major AI development companies for what he called an undemocratic manner of decision-making.Speaking at Tuesday’s “Pro-Human Assembly 2026,” headlined by the Vermont socialist and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, Sanders sought to cast as wide a net as possible in voicing caution in AI development. He cited fears from psychologists, political scientists, libertarians, and AI experts themselves in boosting his argument, leading up to a warning of the worst-case scenario. “Go to the internet right now, and … you will find it increasingly difficult to determine truth from fiction,” Sanders said. “And yet, as disturbing as all of that is, there is another even more alarming danger posed by AI, and that is that if AI surpasses human intelligence, as many scientists believe it could, this technology will escape human control with potentially catastrophic consequences.”AI, he warned, was advancing “exponentially, every single day.”In a more standard critique from Sanders, he took issue with the concentrated way in which AI development was being monitored and leveled criticism against President Donald Trump.“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 live,” Sanders said. “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.”HOW DO THE 2028 DEMOCRATS STACK UP ON AI?He took issue with all the major decisions in the development of AI having been made “by a handful of the richest people in the world,” then proposed a structural change to the AI companies to get more democratic involvement.“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 all of us,” Sanders said. “That would require that half of the board members of AI companies, larger AI companies, be appointed by the public.”“The Big Tech oligarchs must no longer be allowed to determine the future of humanity,” he added.He said the sudden agreement from industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, was a start, but not enough.AI GUARDRAILS DEBATE EXPLODES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes,” he said, triggering cheers from the audience.Sanders then announced he was introducing legislation next week with Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) to ban the development of artificial superintelligence.“Like nuclear weapons, artificial superintelligence is a threat to humanity and must be treated as such,” he argued.The same legislation would impose an immediate moratorium on advanced AI development until “the most knowledgeable scientists” in the United States establish clear safety rules.CONGRESS IS WRESTLING WITH AI DEVELOPMENT. HERE ARE FIVE BILLS TO WATCHThough Sanders was the highest-profile and most anticipated speaker on Tuesday, the summit sought to make AI skepticism a bipartisan effort, with a hodgepodge of speakers ranging from conservative to socialist. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), of the House Freedom Caucus, gave one of the first speeches, making a conservative case for careful AI regulation, even explicitly voicing disagreement with Trump.The conference organizers centered the event on their Pro-Human AI Declaration, which they boasted included principles that polling found were not individually opposed by more than 5% of the polled U.S. population.