Barack Obama has urged Democrats to make artificial intelligence central to their agenda with "a very clear plan" for the safety and economic concerns it raises, warning the technology could be "dangerous" if not properly managed. The former president made the remarks to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday at a private Democratic fundraising event, and his office provided the New York Times with a partial transcript.
What was said at the fundraiser? Obama encouraged Jeffries to help shape a public conversation on AI policy should Democrats regain the House in the November 3 midterm elections, Channel News Asia reported. "Once you are speaker, I would strongly urge that the Democrats put together a framework for a very public conversation," he told Jeffries, also calling for candidates in the 2028 presidential race to make AI one of their central agendas. "This is something that is moving very fast in private hands, and if we don't get on top of it, I think can be dangerous," Obama said. He went on, in comments TechCrunch reported, to say that "if we do get on top of it, I do think it's beneficial," and that he believes it will accelerate drug development "in ways that can help us cure diseases."
How did Jeffries respond? Jeffries said in a statement that the former president "is correct that decisive action must be taken on artificial intelligence," TechCrunch reported. He also said "Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to govern on behalf of the American people."
What is the backdrop? Obama has offered himself as a "sounding board" to AI executives, TechCrunch reported, and has spoken with Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. His remarks come, Channel News Asia reported, as growing numbers of U.S. lawmakers call for tougher rules on AI systems after dire warnings from two Anthropic researchers that rapid industry progress risks the extinction of the human race. The extinction concerns were spurred by cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems and by AI safety researchers quitting their companies over the technology's risks. On Saturday, Amodei urged AI companies to throttle back work on model capabilities, drawing agreement from Altman.
Figures referenced: Barack Obama. — JudgeMarket.
