Scoop: Sanders convenes senators for AI briefing amid mounting alarm

• Sanders, the lawmaker behind legislation that would pause AI development, is bringing that debate directly to senators.

Driving the news: Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather of AI," Future of Life Institute co-founder Max Tegmark, and Ajeya Cotra, one of the independent researchers who investigated the OpenAI-Hugging Face hacking incident, will attend the Senate briefing.

• The briefing comes after Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic and OpenAI employee, quit Anthropic over concerns neither company is taking AI dangers seriously.
• Coxon said in a viral post on X that a pause on AI development could be a solution.

"As you know, the issue of AI has been getting enormous attention in recent weeks—for obvious reasons," Sanders wrote in a Dear Colleague letter to senators, pointing to Coxon's post.

• "Congress needs SERIOUS discussions about this issue," he wrote.

• "That is why I will be convening a private briefing with some of the leading experts in the world to discuss this recent incident and the extraordinary dangers that AI poses for humanity."

Between the lines: Congress has held many roundtables, briefings and hearings on AI, and a myriad of bills have been introduced.

• Safety advocates hope the latest technological advances and warnings from inside AI companies could be what finally spurs congressional leaders to act.

What's next: The briefing will take place Sept. 16 from 4-5 p.m. on the Hill, according to the letter seen by Axios.