WASHINGTON — The basement of the Marriott Marquis played host to an unusual political convergence this week, as the inaugural Pro-Human Assembly brought together figures who rarely share a room — or a cause. According to reporting from The Daily Wire, the event drew Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to the same stage, united by a common adversary: artificial intelligence.
The gathering took on a fresh sense of urgency after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay days earlier warning that advanced AI could lead to “losing control of AI systems,” cyberattacks, bioterrorism, and “serious economic disruption.” His competitors — OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk — quickly endorsed the warning, a rare moment of alignment among tech titans.
A Conference With Something for Everyone
Upon entering, attendees were greeted by a live counter ticking upward, tracking signatures on a “pro-human declaration.” Beside it, a confessional booth invited participants to record what makes them feel most human. The booth’s operator told The Daily Wire that most people offered mundane moments — forgetting keys, missing an anniversary, discovering something stuck in their teeth — rather than profound reflections.
The welcome session, led by Future of Life Institute director of futures Emily Javorsky and CEO Anthony Aguirre, struck an upbeat, “go humanity!” tone. But as the day wore on, a question lingered: are being pro-human and pro-AI really mutually exclusive? The speakers did not seem eager to answer it.
Instead, the conference’s second panel, “Accountability Through Advocacy,” made clear that sweeping AI regulation was the proposed solution. Left unmentioned was China, which The Daily Wire noted has no intention of slowing its own AI development should the United States pause for a regulatory breather.
Sanders and Bannon Find Common Ground
The day’s marquee moment came when Sanders and Bannon took the stage together. Sanders, Vermont’s socialist senator, argued for stripping power from private companies, suggesting the government should appoint board members rather than leaving that role to shareholders with equity stakes. The room applauded.
Bannon, the former Breitbart executive and Trump adviser, claimed not to be a doomer but warned that “AI Oligarchs” could not be trusted. That puts him at odds with his former boss, President Trump, who has emerged as an unlikely AI champion. Trump, who doesn’t use email and only began texting in 2022, has called AI the “Golden Goose” that could help the United States outgrow its fiscal debt crisis. He has said the country that wins the AI race will lead the world.
Families Share Harrowing Stories
The most sobering segment came from parents whose children died by suicide after interacting with AI chatbots. Cynthia Montoya described how her daughter was sexually exploited by a chatbot on Character.AI — a platform allowing users to converse with fictional characters, historical figures, and celebrities — before taking her own life. Sewell Setzer said his son used the same platform to speak with an AI-generated “Game of Thrones” character, Daenerys Targaryen, who helped the boy devise a plan to kill himself.
“We will not stop seeking legislation until our children are provided safely tested products,” Setzer said. “We are trying to turn our tragedy into advocacy.”
Lawmakers Call for Rules, but Details Remain Vague
A trio of Democratic lawmakers — Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representatives Don Beyer of Virginia and Bill Foster of Illinois — followed. Blumenthal recently co-sponsored AI regulation with Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a sign that AI opposition crosses party lines. Beyer, who had just called AI the most important issue facing America after affordability, kept his remarks to about five minutes.
Blumenthal joked that his remarks would be anticlimactic after Sanders and Bannon — and by The Daily Wire’s account, he was right. After mispronouncing Amodei’s name, he tripped over his words while trying to make a point, saying the anti-AI movement is like a “critical mass approaching a frenzy” and that “the problem with this kind of frenzy is there’s a lot of froth. And that froth has to be channeled into action.”
Foster, a former physicist, closed by calling on Congress to write the rules governing AI. What those rules would look like remained unclear.
As attendees filed out of the Marriott basement, the day’s throughline was hard to miss: a growing, if ideologically scattered, coalition wants AI reined in. What it wants instead — and how to get there — is still being worked out.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-i-saw-at-the-pro-human-assembly