Former President Barack Obama is urging Democrats to focus on crafting thorough and careful AI policy should they retake the House in the midterms, and said the party’s candidates for president in 2028 should make it a key part of their campaigns.
“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 at a private DCCC fundraiser on Sept. 10, according to reports from Politico and The New York Times. The outlets cited partial transcripts of Obama’s remarks provided by the former president’s office.
Obama noted that Americans are concerned about the potential economic issues around AI and how it may affect their jobs, according to the transcript: “If it turns out that you’ve got a lot more people who can’t find full-time work because they’ve been rendered redundant, how are we going to respond?”
Obama’s warning is in sharp contrast to President Trump’s recent insistence that AI development doesn’t need to be slowed down or curttailed despite warnings from some industry leaders, and that the main thing required is to have a “high IQ” president in charge. The president called the warnings about AI taking over a “hoax.”
Obama’s remarks may serve as a blueprint of sorts for Democratic candidates in the midterms and those considering a presidential run in 2028, on how to navigate conversations with voters worried about AI and its impact. The former president outlined how he would approach the issue if he were running in 2028: “I would have a very clear plan, and I would talk about this, and I would say, here’s our plan for safety, here’s our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this.”
A Data for Progress poll earlier this month found 68% of voters would support legislation being proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) that would pause AI development and prohibit the creation of an AI superintelligence. Sanders scheduled a private congressional briefing for today with experts to discuss “the extraordinary dangers that AI poses for humanity,” Axios reported.
(Photo: President Barack Obama, via Barack Obama Facebook)