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If you had “Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon on the same stage” on your 2026 bingo card, congratulations. The Vermont senator and the former Trump strategist appeared together at the Future of Life Institute’s Pro-Human Assembly in Washington, D.C., on September 15, both calling for sharp restrictions on AI development.
What happened at the assembly
The Pro-Human Assembly brought together a bipartisan roster of lawmakers, activists, and public figures. Attendees included labor leader Randi Weingarten and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, alongside elected officials from both parties.
Sanders delivered what amounted to a warning shot at the AI industry. He cautioned that AI could eliminate tens of millions of jobs and pushed for binding regulations on development, not the voluntary commitments that tech companies have offered so far. His legislative agenda includes pausing advanced AI development and permanently banning superintelligence, a category of AI system that would exceed human-level cognitive abilities across all domains.
Bannon, for his part, called AI “the defining issue of our time.” His framing leaned harder into the anti-establishment register, taking aim at what he described as “tech oligarchs” whose influence over AI policy has outpaced any public accountability.
Sanders has also advocated for direct US-China discussions on the governance of powerful AI systems.
The resignation that set the mood
The assembly took place against a particularly charged backdrop. Jacob Coxon recently resigned from Anthropic, one of the leading AI safety-focused companies, claiming that AI could potentially lead to human extinction.
Public opinion is shifting fast
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 77% of surveyed individuals expressed concern about increased electricity costs from AI data centers. People are worried about their power bills. They’re worried about their jobs. The concerns are material and immediate, which is exactly the kind of issue that forces elected officials to respond.
Where the White House stands
President Trump has maintained a more lenient stance on AI governance, suggesting that existing regulations are sufficient. Sanders’ proposed legislation, which would pause advanced AI development and ban superintelligence outright, faces steep odds in a political environment where the executive branch is actively courting AI investment.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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