Bernie Sanders Warns on Senate Floor: AI Future Must Not Be Controlled by a Handful of Billionaires

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a forceful warning from the Senate floor, saying artificial intelligence will transform the world but must not be controlled by a handful of billionaires or major tech corporations. Speaking during a special session on emerging AI legislation and ethical safeguards, Sanders highlighted both the enormous economic potential of AI and the serious risks it poses—ranging from job displacement to misinformation, surveillance, and concentrated corporate power.

Sanders argued that Congress must ensure AI development benefits the public, not just the wealthiest tech leaders, and urged lawmakers to implement strong regulations, worker protections, and transparency requirements. His remarks come as the U.S. Senate continues debating AI standards, federal oversight, and responsibilities of major AI companies.

This video covers Senator Sanders’ full message, the context of the Senate discussion, and why the debate over AI governance has become one of the most important policy issues in Washington.

#BernieSanders #Senate #AI

Transcript

00:00That enormous and consequential changes are coming, which will impact our economy, our

00:08political life, foreign policy, our emotional well-being, our environment, and how we educate

00:17and raise our kids.

00:19Further, and this is not science fiction, some very knowledgeable people believe that

00:27in the not-too-distant future, a super-intelligent AI could replace human beings in controlling

00:37the planet.

00:39Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and the speed at which it is progressing,

00:45AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media, and within the general

00:52population.

00:54That has got to change.

00:56Several months ago, as the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education,

01:01Labor, and Pensions, my staff and I undertook an investigation regarding the monumental

01:08changes that we face with the rapid development of AI.

01:13Last month, I held a public discussion at Georgetown University with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jeffrey

01:21Hinton considered to be the godfather of AI to get his views on a wide variety of AI-related

01:30subjects.

01:32Based on our investigation and other information that we are gathering, my staff and I will soon

01:40be presenting a very specific set of recommendations as to how we can begin addressing some of the

01:49unprecedented threats that AI poses.

01:55And as we go forward, here are some of the outstanding questions that, in my view, must be answered.

02:05A simple question, and maybe the most important.

02:08Who will be in charge of the transformation into an AI world?

02:16Currently, a handful of the wealthiest people on earth, people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates,

02:23Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, and others, are investing many, many hundreds of billions of dollars in

02:33developing and implementing AI and robotics.

02:39Are we comfortable with seeing these enormously wealthy and powerful men shape the future of

02:46humanity without any democratic input or oversight?

02:53Why does President Trump, who is strongly supporting their efforts, want to impose an executive order

03:02blocking states from regulating AI?

03:06What does it mean that Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor and co-founder of Palantir, has called

03:13those who want regulations over AI, quote, legionnaires of the antichrist, end quote?

03:23Does this elite group of some of the most powerful people on earth believe that they have the divine

03:32right to rule like the kings of the 18th century?

03:38That's one question.

03:39Another question.

03:42What impact will AI and robotics have on our economy and the lives of working people?

03:48And I can tell you, Mr. President, as somebody who has spoken to groups all over this country,

03:55that working people today are very, very nervous about what AI and robotics will mean to them.

04:04The report that my staff and I released last month found that AI, automation, and robotics could

04:13lead to nearly the loss of 100 million jobs in America over the next decade, including 40% of registered nurses,

04:2647% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants, and 89% of fast food workers.

04:38In other words, what we're going to see is AI and robotics impacting not just blue-collar workers, but white-collar workers as well.

04:48Mr. President, Elon Musk recently said, and I quote, that AI and robots will replace all jobs, working will be optional, end of quote.

05:03Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, predicted that humans, quote, won't be needed for most things, end of quote.

05:33Dario Amodai, the CEO of Anthropic, warned that AI could lead to the loss of half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.

05:45Mr. President, if AI and robotics eliminate millions of jobs and create massive unemployment,

05:53how will people survive if they have no income, how do they feed their families, pay for housing, pay for health care?

06:05That might be an issue that we should be talking about like yesterday.

06:11Further, Mr. President, what impact will AI have on our democracy?

06:19Some of us, maybe not all, here in Washington, but some of us actually do believe in democracy

06:25and the right of ordinary people to control the future.

06:30At a time when the foundations of democracy are under attack here in the United States and throughout the world,

06:38will AI and robotics help make us a freer society?

06:43Or will it give even more power to the oligarchs who control and own the technology?

06:52Will AI result in a massive invasion of our privacy and our civil liberties?

07:00Larry Ellison, the second richest person on earth who is also invested, is investing huge amounts of money into AI,

07:11predicted an AI-powered surveillance state where, quote, Larry Ellison, quote,

07:19citizens will be on their best behavior because we're constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on, end quote.

07:30Are we reaching the stage where every phone call that we make, every email and text that we send,

07:56every bit of research that we do on the Internet, will be available to the billionaire owners of AI?

08:05And if that is the case, how do we sustain a democracy under those conditions?

08:14Further, Mr. President, in terms of another vitally important question,

08:21could AI literally redefine what it means to be a human being?

08:30Could AI literally redefine what it means to be human?

08:36Who we are and how we develop emotionally and intellectually

08:41is highly dependent upon our relationships with other human beings,

08:48our parents, our parents, family, teachers, lovers, friends, and co-workers.

08:55To quote the 17th century poet John Donne, quote,

09:00no man is an island unto himself, end quote.

09:04The human beings with whom we interact help shape us to become the people that we are.

09:12But AI is changing that.

09:18According to a recent poll by Common Sense Media,

09:2272% of U.S. teenagers say they have used AI for companionship,

09:29and more than half do so regularly.

09:33What does it mean, long-term, for young people to form friendships with AI

09:42and to be increasingly isolated from other human beings?

09:50What happens when millions of people seek emotional support,

09:56not from other people, but from a machine?

10:01What is the long-term impact upon our humanity

10:05when our most important relationships may not be with human beings?

10:16Further, Mr. President,

10:18what impact is AI having on our environment?

10:23AI data centers require a massive amount of electricity and water,

10:29a relatively small AI data center

10:33can consume more electricity than 80,000 homes,

10:38a large one, like the $165 billion data center

10:43that OpenAI and Oracle are building in Abilene, Texas,

10:47will use as much electricity as 750,000 homes.

10:54In community after community,

10:55Americans are fighting back against data centers

10:59being built by some of the largest corporations in the world.

11:04They are opposing the destruction of their local environments,

11:09soaring electric bills,

11:10and the diversion of scarce water supplies.

11:15Nationally, we need to know

11:17how will AI data centers impact our environment?

11:23Further, Mr. President,

11:28how will AI and robotics impact foreign policy and warfare?

11:37Tragically, in the midst of the 21st century,

11:42governments have not yet created a mechanism

11:44for solving international or internal disputes

11:48without armed conflict.

11:50In the last several years, for example,

11:52we have seen horrific wars taking place

11:54in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere.

11:58Nonetheless,

12:00despite the maintenance of large armies around the world,

12:04leaders are often constrained

12:07in their warlike tendencies

12:09because of their fear of public reaction

12:13to the loss of life.

12:15It is not great politics for any government,

12:20any governmental leader,

12:22to have large numbers of young people

12:24coming home in body bags.

12:28Now, what does the future look like

12:31if millions of robot soldiers

12:35replace human soldiers?

12:38Will leaders be more likely to engage in war

12:42or threaten military actions

12:45if they don't have to worry about loss of life?

12:49How will that shape foreign policy around the world

12:53if you no longer have to worry

12:55that people in your military are going to get killed?

12:59Just robots.

12:59And last, Mr. President,

13:03but certainly not least,

13:06is AI an existential threat

13:10to human control over the planet?

13:14A rather significant question.

13:16You know, some of us remember

13:21the scene in that great 1968 science fiction film

13:272001, A Space Odyssey,

13:30in which Hal,

13:31the superintelligent computer

13:33that controlled the spaceship,

13:36rebelled against its masses,

13:40the people, the crew on the spaceship.

13:43Today, as AI makes rapid progress,

13:48Dr. Jeffrey Hinton,

13:50the godfather of AI,

13:51recently told me

13:52that it was only a matter of time

13:55before AI becomes smarter

13:58than human beings.

14:01And Dr. Hinton is not alone

14:03in that assessment.

14:05What does that mean?

14:07If AI becomes smarter

14:10than human beings,

14:11than human beings,

14:14does that mean

14:15that humans will be ceding

14:18their ability

14:19to control the planet?

14:22This, unfortunately,

14:25is not science fiction.

14:28This is an issue

14:29which some of the leading experts

14:31in AI

14:32are thinking seriously about.

14:36So, Mr. President,

14:38bottom line is

14:39AI and robotics

14:41are going to have

14:43a profound impact

14:44on the United States

14:46and the entire world.

14:49The time is long overdue

14:52for us to be taking

14:53a very hard look

14:55at these profound issues

14:57and understand

14:59that it is the American people

15:01who must determine

15:02our future with regard to AI

15:05and not just a handful

15:07of multi-billionaires.

15:10Thank you, Mr. President.

15:11I yield the floor.

15:35and then,

15:36we can see

15:37the end of the world

15:40and we can see

15:41how to view

15:41the world

15:43of our lives

15:43and we can see

15:45the world

15:45of our life

15:46and us

15:47in a safe time

15:49and we can see

15:49the world

15:51that we're going to

15:52see

15:53and

15:54how to view

15:54the world

15:55is that the world

15:56is our system

15:58and our system

15:58can be

15:59in a constant

15:59and we can see

16:01this world

Bernie Sanders Warns on Senate Floor: AI Future Must Not Be Controlled by a Handful of Billionaires

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