An unlikely coalition of politicians, labor leaders, faith groups and entertainers gathered today in Washington to call for stronger safeguards around AI and greater human control over increasingly powerful systems.
Speakers at the Pro-Human Assembly included Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; former Trump adviser Steve Bannon; Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas; Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas; and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. Sanders and Bannon spoke back-to-back.
The event was built around the Pro-Human AI Declaration, which calls for keeping humans in control of AI, preventing excessive concentrations of power and holding companies responsible for harm caused by their systems.
Organizers said the declaration has surpassed 1 million signatures. Its supporters include AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, musician Thom Yorke, former presidential candidate Ralph Nader and conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
The campaign is seeking specific safeguards, including an off switch for powerful AI systems, safety testing before deployment, greater transparency from technology companies and bans on giving AI ‘personhood,’ which suggests granting legal rights similar to those of people. It also calls for prohibiting development of superintelligence until there is broad scientific agreement that such systems can be built safely and controlled.
The Pro-Human Assembly was organized by the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit founded in 2014 that advocates for reducing potentially large-scale risks from advanced technologies, particularly AI. In 2023, the group called for a six-month pause in development of advanced AI systems.
“The most powerful AI companies in the world are writing their own rules, and every day Congress waits, we hand them more control over a technology that touches all of our lives,” Trahan said in a statement.
The gathering brought together people with sharply different political views who share concerns about the direction and speed of AI development, although they do not necessarily agree on how the government should respond.
Labor leaders participating included AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, computer scientist Jaron Lanier and economist Daron Acemoglu also appeared on the program.
“We need to decide what kind of world we want to live in: one where technology remains human-led, or one where machines dictate the future,” Roy said.
The Future of Life Institute has increasingly pushed its AI agenda into public policy and advocacy. Its website says it does not accept donations from AI companies and draws its operating budget from an endowment established after a large 2021 donation from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The organization says Buterin has no role in its decision-making.