In an unusual political alliance, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders and conservative podcaster Steve Bannon are joining forces at the "Pro-Human Assembly" in Washington to demand strict guardrails on artificial intelligence. The bipartisan push comes amid rising public anxiety, with an NBC poll showing two-thirds of Americans view AI as a high risk. While the Trump administration maintains a highly permissive, pro-AI stance—with President Trump dismissing existential AI fears as a "hoax"—candidates from both parties are increasingly leveraging voter anger over AI and data centers as a key issue ahead of the midterm elections.
Bipartisan AI regulation push
- ▪The "Pro-Human Assembly" on September 15, 2026, is organized by the non-profit Future of Life Institute to advocate for human-controlled artificial intelligence
- ▪Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have called for U.S. legislation to halt the development of artificial intelligence tools capable of undermining the U.S. government until a new policing agency is created
- ▪Steve Bannon has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders' calls for a permanent ban on "superintelligent" artificial intelligence and the establishment of a new federal regulator
- ▪The "Pro-Human Assembly" on September 15, 2026, will feature a politically diverse lineup of speakers, including Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, Representative Chip Roy, and Representative Greg Casar
- ▪Senator Bernie Sanders and conservative podcaster Steve Bannon will speak at the "Pro-Human Assembly" in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2026, to call for greater restrictions on artificial intelligence
Public concerns about AI risks
- ▪U.S. voters are increasingly concerned about the local impacts of artificial intelligence data centers, including job losses, water depletion, and rising utility costs
- ▪An NBC poll published in September 2026 found that approximately two-thirds of Americans believe artificial intelligence presents a high or very high risk to society
Trump administration pro-AI stance
- ▪President Donald Trump stated on September 14, 2026, that fears of artificial intelligence taking over the world are a "hoax" and that the U.S. already has sufficient guardrails in place
- ▪The Donald Trump administration has pursued a pro-AI agenda, advocating for data centers and working to curtail efforts by individual states to implement strict regulations
- ▪Steve Bannon criticized President Donald Trump's permissive approach to artificial intelligence, stating on September 14, 2026, that Congress should not pass laws blocking states from enforcing their own AI rules
Industry insider safety warnings
- ▪Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from the company over safety fears, stating that the people building artificial intelligence believe it could kill humanity by the end of the decade
- ▪Global artificial intelligence stocks fell on September 14, 2026, after leaders from major AI companies, including OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic, called for a slowdown in the development of advanced models
Midterm election AI positioning
- ▪Republican strategists have warned that appearing too close to the artificial intelligence industry is becoming a political liability for the party ahead of the November midterm elections
- ▪Political candidates in competitive U.S. House and Senate races are leveraging voter anxiety over artificial intelligence and data centers as a key issue ahead of the midterm elections
Debatable claims
- ▪The US should halt advanced AI development until a new regulatory agency is established
- ▪AI poses an existential risk to humanity
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