伯尼·桑德斯与史蒂夫·班农在“亲人类”集会中就人工智能问题达成共识

Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon agree on AI at ‘pro-human’ gathering

2026-09-15T19:37:30.134Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/15/politics/sanders-bannon-ai-threat

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Fears about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence have bent the American political spectrum to the point that Sen. Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist from Vermont, appeared on the same stage as Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser and MAGA fundamentalist, at an event in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

While the two did not appear onstage together, they spoke just moments apart at the Pro-Human Assembly to call for urgent action to rein in AI.

Both men see what Bannon called a “Cold War moment.” And both raised concerns about the benefits of AI being concentrated among a small number of tech billionaires, while the American public is left to grapple with its risks and pitfalls.

The event came as debate heats up around how to handle the serious risks presented by AI, which some experts and leaders believe could be existential, but which President Donald Trump has called a “hoax.” Rogue AI hacking incidents and AI companies’ own reports about misuse of their tools have added to the fears.

Sanders raised concerns that AI will wipe out jobs, create a “mass surveillance state,” compromise people’s well-being and jeopardize the integrity of elections.

Bannon similarly warned about the impact of AI on an American public that largely did not ask for it. He said Americans “are not going to be supplicants” to AI or AI companies, whom he accused of trying to form a cartel to control the technology.

Both Bannon and Sanders want to put the brakes on the development of superintelligence — an agreement that is notable on its own. But it was clear from their remarks that they diverge on how to move forward, illustrating a split that exists all around Washington.

Sanders has proposed legislation that would give the US government a direct stake in AI companies through a one-time 50% tax on their value to create an American sovereign wealth fund and a law to ban superintelligence that could subvert human control.

Bannon, by contrast, said laws take too much time. He wants President Donald Trump to use executive action to gin up some kind of regulatory agency, although he shared no specifics on what that could look like.

Sanders talked about working with other countries because this is “humanity’s problem,” encouraging Trump to draw up a treaty with China when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. But Bannon said a treaty would take too long and give dangerous power to China; he called instead for barring Chinese nationals from US universities and labs.

Comparing the AI race to the nuclear arms race, Sanders pointed to US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev putting aside differences to form a nuclear disarmament treaty.

“With the survival of humanity at stake, they found a way to sign that treaty,” Sanders said.

Moments later, Bannon gave a very different history lesson.

“Our father and grandfathers,” he said, “stood up to the Soviet Union, and the first thing in standing up to them was to cut them off.”

There should be no deals or agreements with China, Bannon said.

Sanders, who did not mention Bannon, argued that Trump’s ignorance of AI issues is embarrassing. Bannon acknowledged that he and Sanders have very different views of Trump. “We’re trying to raise above partisanship, and we have to,” he said.

While the two advocated for very different approaches to controlling AI, their level of agreement is notable.

Neither Sanders nor Bannon has any faith in AI companies’ CEOs. Sanders demanded that they stop pouring money into US elections; Bannon said they cannot be trusted.

Organizers with the Future of Life Institute said their “pro-human declaration” — which calls for measures such as an “off switch” for powerful AI systems — now has 1 million signatories, including the American Federation of Teachers, SAG-AFTRA and the online safety group Heat Initiative.

The larger alignment between Sanders and Bannon shows how political lines are being redrawn over how to handle the controversial issue.

At the heart of the debate is the question of whether AI development must be slowed to prevent catastrophic risks or if any delay could put the United States behind China in the race to highly powerful AI and blunt the technology’s economic benefits.

A chorus of top AI leaders have in recent days called for government and the corporate sector to implement additional guardrails and intentionally slow the pace of development to keep it from getting out of hand. Still, others in the industry question whether such calls stem, at least in part, from a desire to shape regulation in a way that could be friendly to certain companies.

Trump has called fears around AI a “hoax” in a call with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during a live event on Monday. He has rejected the idea of additional AI controls, saying he wants the US to stay ahead of China. House Speaker Mike Johnson has also said that Congress shouldn’t rush to act. That’s despite a growing anti-AI push on the right, including from Bannon, who for months raised concerns about AI’s benefits to what he calls the tech “oligarchy.”

Democrats ranging from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to former President Barack Obama have called for swift action to rein in AI.

A June report from Pew Research Center found that 40% of US adults believe AI will be negative for society over the next 20 years, compared with just 16% who believe it will be positive and 31% who said it would be equally positive and negative.

The issue does not fall along traditional partisan lines. One thing to watch will be whether Republicans take the cue from Trump that efforts to rein in AI are part of a “hoax.”

Tuesday’s event was scheduled to include a wide range of speakers addressing how to shape AI to benefit humanity, including actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has raised concerns about AI’s impact on Hollywood and children, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who has sought to develop recommendations and trainings for the use of AI in schools. One panel also included parents who say their children died by suicide after interacting with AI chatbots, a stark reminder that existing AI systems can already have stark consequences.

“When you are racing towards a cliff you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes,” Sanders said.