Sanders splits with Washington on AI arms race with China
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling on Washington to collaborate with China on AI, breaking from a bipartisan approach that frames AI development as a race between the two countries.
Why it matters: Sanders, who is writing the progressive playbook on AI, is shifting the focus away from U.S.-China competition and toward international cooperation around AI safety.
Driving the news: Sanders this week brought together researchers from the U.S. and China to discuss the "existential threat" of AI and how the two countries could work together.
- "In the last five months, I've seen the emergence of what I like to joke with my wife as the Bernie to Bannon coalition," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Max Tegmark, referring to MAGA influencer Steve Bannon.
- "Extremely unlikely bedfellows from across the whole political spectrum saying, 'This is crazy. This is absolutely nuts. Let's do something about it.'"
- Tegmark zeroed in on how chatbots may be harming young people: "For someone to say that we must legalize this kind of evil for profit because China makes absolutely no sense."
Panelists called on scientists in both countries to work together to set global safety standards.
- "The first thing we have to change is the inaccurate narrative that the U.S. and China are engaged in AI race," Tsinghua University professor Xue Lan said. "It's a a global race to see who can really develop the best model that can be safe and reliable."
- Xue acknowledged there's a real geopolitical rivalry, but said that there should be "safe zones" for cooperation on AI safety.
What they're saying: Sanders wrote in a post on Thursday that "what I don't understand is how anyone can ignore when the world's leading AI scientists tell us that, as AI becomes smarter than humans, it could operate independently of human control — with possible catastrophic results."
Between the lines: Trillions of dollars are being spent on an AI race with no clear finish line.
- The race against China is often framed as technology falling in the hands of an authoritarian regime versus a democratic one, but pushback in the U.S. is growing over AI-powered surveillance.
What we're watching: AI safety is expected to be on the agenda for an upcoming summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- "When the U.S. government talks to China about AI, it must do so from a position of strength. Obviously the CCP is our adversary, and President Trump knows that," said Alliance for Secure AI CEO Brendan Steinhauser said.
- The group has been engaging with conservative audiences and media to try to shape the debate around AI as one where safety and competition matter.
The bottom line: As with his push to block new data centers, Sanders is again bucking moderate thinking on AI by rejecting the race with China frame that dominates both parties.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the post from Sanders.
