Bernie Sanders urges international cooperation to halt AI’s ‘runaway train’ | Bernie Sanders
US senator Bernie Sanders emphasized the importance of international cooperation in regulating artificial intelligence during a panel discussion with two leading Chinese scientists on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
As startups and tech giants, particularly in Silicon Valley and Beijing, race to develop and scale their artificial intelligence, Sanders has been among AI skeptics advocating safeguards.
During the debate, Sanders expressed concerns about potential consequences from the widespread use of artificial intelligence, such as misinformation, loss of data privacy, and social isolation among teenagers dependent on chatbots.
The Vermont senator also voiced alarm about the existential risks automation could pose to American society; This could lead to a possible increase in unemployment if companies prefer automated labor over human workers. Researchers on the panel also presented the possibility of super-intelligent systems operating outside the boundaries of their designers’ instructions.
Suggesting an apocalyptic future if security measures are not implemented, Sanders said, “The richest, most powerful people in the world are now building a train that has no brakes and is out of control. They admit that they do not understand how it works and do not know where it is going.”
Sanders, an independent caucusing with Democrats, called for an international agreement similar to the Cold War nuclear agreement.
“We need cooperation. We need dialogue,” he said.
The appearance of an event attended by Chinese academics (Xue Lan of Tsinghua University and Zeng Yi of the Beijing Institute of Artificial Intelligence Security and Governance) sparked a backlash from some conservatives who did not appear to dispute the need for regulation but questioned the credibility of the Chinese government.
“Senator Sanders’ concerns about AI are overblown, but I respect them. We must ask questions about child safety, social impact, and economic displacement,” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, wrote in X on Monday. to mail. “What we should not do is partner with foreign enemies like the Chinese Communist Party in these discussions.”
In another X to mail On Monday, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced America’s first agenda.
“The United States is home to the most talented AI researchers in the world,” he wrote. “The real threat to AI security is allowing any country other than the United States to set the global standard.”
Addressing the geopolitical situation, Lan said on Wednesday: “It is unimaginable to think of a world where only a few countries and a few companies have the most powerful tools, but the rest of the world is impoverished with nothing.”
He said: “The US and China will have a common interest in working together to bridge the AI gap.
Sanders has previously sounded the alarm about the spread of artificial intelligence.
In March, Sanders and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a statement. invoice If this law is approved, the construction of new artificial intelligence data centers will be stopped.
“Artificial intelligence and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in human history. The scale, scope, and speed of this change are unprecedented. Congress is far behind where it needs to be in understanding the nature and impacts of this revolution,” Sanders later said in a statement.
