Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned that artificial intelligence could eventually become difficult for humans to control, while calling for the technology’s benefits to reach society broadly rather than primarily enriching billionaires.
Sanders Raises AI Safety Concerns
On Saturday, Sanders made the remarks in an X post while sharing a clip from his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"It is not complicated. Artificial intelligence must be used to benefit all of humanity, not make a handful of multi-billionaires even richer," he wrote in the post.
In the clip, Sanders said AI developers acknowledge that the technology is potentially dangerous and that its future remains uncertain.
"I have talked to some leading scientists in the world that tells us it’s only a question of time before AI becomes smarter than humans," he said.
He warned that if AI surpasses human intelligence and "humanity loses its ability to control AI," the consequences could be unpredictable.
"But if that happens and if humanity loses its ability to control AI, nobody knows what will happen," Sanders said. "I damn well do not want to wait around to see what will happen."
He also acknowledged AI’s potential benefits, particularly in health care.
AI Safety Concerns
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that treating AI as a deity and relying on AI models instead of human judgment represented a "real safety issue."
His comments followed reports of Anthropic’s discussions with religious scholars about AI consciousness, morality and how advanced models should develop values.
Last month, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) introduced OpenShell and Sentry as part of an AI safety platform designed to govern and contain autonomous AI agents.
CEO Jensen Huang said AI safety needed to advance alongside AI capabilities.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates warned that increasingly capable AI could enable sophisticated cyberattacks and dangerous biological research.
He called for stronger government safety requirements and questioned whether corporate safeguards and liability alone were sufficient.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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