Sanders and Bannon to Address Washington Event on AI Curbs
Cover image from independent.co.uk, which was analyzed for this article
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon are appearing together to urge faster action on AI safety and impacts. The unusual alliance comes amid industry calls for slowdowns and Trump's opposition to new rules.
PoliticalOS
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 — Tech
Cross-partisan concern over AI risks is prompting public calls for faster federal and state action even as the Trump administration and House leadership resist new mandates. The Tuesday assembly tests whether shared worries about human control can produce concrete legislative movement before industry momentum outpaces oversight.
What outlets missed
Neither outlet provided details on the exact legislative text under Senate consideration or the vote margin expected on the Ratepayer Protection Act. The Independent alone reported a global decline in AI equities on Monday without naming the exchanges or percentage drops involved. NPR alone identified the Future of Life Institute’s March principles and the specific involvement of child-safety advocates whose children died after AI chatbot interactions. Both accounts left unaddressed the current status of any state-level AI rules already enacted or pending.
Voters face mounting questions about who will control artificial intelligence as its developers warn of rapid capability gains and lawmakers weigh limits on the technology. An event scheduled for Tuesday in Washington brings together figures from opposite ends of the political spectrum to press Congress for stronger oversight before systems advance further.
Senator Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon are both set to speak at the Pro-Human Assembly organized by the Future of Life Institute. The nonprofit released 33 principles in March that call for humans to retain control over AI, preserve individual agency, and hold companies accountable. Additional speakers include AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, National Association of Evangelicals President Walter Kim, actors Ashley Judd and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and parents of children who died by suicide after interactions with AI chatbots.
The gathering occurs as AI-related stocks fell Monday following an Anthropic researcher’s resignation and public calls from executives at Anthropic and OpenAI for slower development. Bannon, speaking on his Monday broadcast, criticized President Trump’s resistance to federal rules and urged lawmakers to allow states to impose their own restrictions, stating that the American people would not become supplicants to tech oligarchs. Trump countered on Sunday that existing safeguards suffice and that the United States must maintain its lead over China.
Senate discussions continue on draft legislation that would block states from regulating high-level AI risks. The House is scheduled to vote as early as Tuesday on the Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to shield consumers from higher electricity costs linked to data-center construction. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said companies rather than Congress should handle safety, citing the risk of falling behind China.
Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have separately called for federal prohibitions on AI tools that could overthrow or undermine the U.S. government until a dedicated oversight agency is created. Organizers described the assembly as an effort to center common humanity in decisions about AI’s future.
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