Sen Sanders Calls on Tech Giants to Pause Development of Out-of-Control AI

Almost every day, there is a new story about how OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta are losing control of the AI technology you are developing, with potentially cataclysmic results. We recently learned, frighteningly, that AI has been used for the first time ever to create new viruses. As you know, this type of development, in the wrong hands, could lead to new bioweapons that result in the deaths of tens of millions of people. In July, the world found out OpenAI lost control of an AI model. The result? The model hacked into another company’s computers—a clear violation of federal law. After conducting internal reviews, Anthropic and Meta reported their models similarly escaped their control. One of the targeted companies called the AI hack “an unprecedented event” that deserves an “unprecedented response.” Yoshua Bengio, the most cited living scientist in the world, said these incidents “should serve as a wake-up call.” I agree. Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development. It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control. Let me be very clear: If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will.