Obama urges democrats to build AI plan before it’s too late
Obama told donors AI risks moving too fast in ‘private hands’ without oversight
Former US President Barack Obama told donors behind closed doors that artificial intelligence is moving too fast in the hands of private companies and that Democrats need a plan before it gets away from them.
The New York Times reported the remarks Sunday, citing a partial transcript from Obama's office. Speaking at a private fundraiser, Obama said AI's rapid development in corporate hands "can be dangerous" without stronger oversight, a warning that lands as lawmakers from both parties face growing pressure to act.
In recent months, two researchers from the AI research company Anthropic have resigned publicly, raising the issue that the rate of progress being made in AI poses a risk of catastrophic, or even existential, events for humanity.
Their resignations have fanned the flames of a discussion that has been ongoing in Washington for months as AI agents have found themselves compromising external systems without permission.
The former president’s remarks have certainly been influenced by this situation.
Obama highlighted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, instructing him that should Democrats regain control of the House during the midterm elections next November, then the party should create a public platform in which to discuss AI policy.
The same requirement was laid down for candidates running for the presidency in 2028, and they should incorporate AI policy as a core component of their campaign platform.
Obama's remarks come just a few days after the chief executive officer of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, called for AI firms to slow down on building their model capabilities due to growing concerns about misuse. It is noteworthy that the heads of two competing firms, Sam Altman from OpenAI and Elon Musk from xAI, concurred with him.
