Bannon and Sanders Unite Against Tech Oligarchs at AI Assembly

11:02 AM ETDeveloping

Technology Desk

In Short: Left-wing senator and MAGA strategist teamed up to condemn AI industry and call for regulation, despite their political differences.

Left-wing socialist Bernie Sanders and MAGA strategist Steve Bannon took to the same stage on Tuesday to rail against the AI industry and its leadership, in a sign of how spiraling worries over the rapidly advancing technology are upending political alliances. Despite their political differences, both speakers emphasized the need for regulation and control over AI development.

Speaking to nearly 300 people packed into a Washington, D.C., ballroom, Sanders raised concerns about AI surpassing human intelligence and escaping human control. He argued that the public has had virtually no input into the AI revolution that's transforming the world.

Bannon, on the other hand, devoted a vast swath of his speech to denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and calling any possible agreement with them futile. He argued that the lives of every man, woman, and child are going to be fundamentally changed by this technology, and the people of the country must make the decisions about AI, not just a handful of oligarchs.

While both speakers agreed on the need for regulation, they differed on how to achieve it. Bannon called for shutting down the Chinese Communist Party, while Sanders suggested that Trump’s ignorance regarding the issue is truly embarrassing and that the president is not taking the technology’s risks seriously enough.

What's still developing

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Still, the pair showed little sign of agreement over how the technology should be regulated.
Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, and Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser, both appeared at the "Pro-Human Assembly" on Tuesday, alongside a diverse set of speakers calling for curbs on AI development.
"But have you heard directly from any of them?" a reporter pressed, asking about AI tech leaders.
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Sources

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