WASHINGTON — Artificial intelligence is producing an unusual sight in Washington: Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon agreeing that the technology may need stronger limits.
President Donald Trump is moving in the opposite direction.
The president has spent the past several days pushing back against warnings about the risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems, arguing that new regulations could slow American innovation and give China an advantage in the global race for the technology.
On Monday, Trump dismissed some of the warnings surrounding AI as a “hoax” and criticized Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has called for stronger safeguards around the most advanced AI models. Trump argued that the federal government already has significant criminal and regulatory authority to respond if companies cross legal lines.
But outside the White House, concern about AI is bringing together people who rarely find themselves on the same side of a political argument.
Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, and Bannon, the former Trump adviser and longtime MAGA strategist, appeared at the same Washington gathering Tuesday to argue that policymakers need to take the potential disruption from AI more seriously.
Their politics, and their reasons for wanting action, remain very different. But their appearance together underscored how concerns about AI are beginning to cut across Washington’s traditional partisan lines.
Bannon described AI as a potentially historic turning point and argued that the issue should rise above ordinary partisan divisions. Sanders has focused heavily on what widespread automation could mean for American workers and the concentration of economic power.
They’re not alone in raising concerns.
Some executives and researchers inside the AI industry have warned that increasingly capable models could create serious economic, national-security and safety risks.
Amodei has advocated mandatory independent audits for the most advanced AI models. Those calls have put him at odds with an administration that has generally favored a lighter regulatory approach.
On Wednesday, Trump adviser David Sacks added to the administration’s pushback, describing the growing warnings surrounding AI as part of a “fear-mongering playbook.” Sacks argued that developers should be responsible for making their products safe but that additional government regulation isn’t necessary.
That leaves Washington with a debate that doesn’t fit neatly into the usual partisan divide.
The disagreement isn’t simply between Democrats demanding regulation and Republicans opposing it. Some figures associated with Trump’s own political movement are calling for stronger intervention, while the administration continues to warn that excessive regulation could undermine America’s position against China.
And the questions are getting harder to ignore.
How quickly will AI replace or transform jobs? Who should be responsible when advanced systems cause harm? How much access should outside experts have to test the most powerful models? And how should the United States balance those risks against its competition with China?
For now, Washington has few answers.
But as the technology becomes more powerful, and the warnings grow louder, pressure on Congress and the White House to find them is likely to continue.
