Dario Amodei · Democrats · White House · NBC News Tech
Obama confirms Democrats should have a ‘very clear plan’ on AI policy
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Former President Barack Obama urged Democrats to prioritize developing a plan around artificial intelligence, saying that’s what he would be doing if he were running for president in 2028.
Key facts
- Amodei wrote over the weekend that the speed at which AI was developing was outpacing safety guardrails, prompting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk to speak out in agreement
- Former President Barack Obama urged Democrats to prioritize developing a plan around artificial intelligence, saying that’s what he would be doing if he were running for president in 2028
- The wave of warnings prompted Democrats to call on House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene an emergency session on AI
- A source familiar with Obama’s thinking said the former president saw Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s essay this weekend calling for an AI slowdown, and the industry leaders’ comments in agreement, as an “encouraging development
Summary
In remarks at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser Thursday, Obama said that while he was neither an “accelerationist” nor a “doomer,” the AI bell is not one that could be unrung, and that Democrats ought to flesh out an agenda on the topic. “If the reporter were running for president next year, this would be one of their central agendas, and the reporter would have a clear plan, and the reporter would talk about this, and the reporter would say, ‘Here’s their plan for safety, here’s their plan for making sure their kids are not corrupted by this.’. Obama made the comments in a discussion with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Obama told Jeffries to convene a “public conversation.