Exclusive: Warren backs pause on AI

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is among the most recent high-profile Democrats to advocate for a temporary halt to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, as confirmed by her office to Axios. This development is significant as the notion of curbing AI acceleration—previously deemed improbable in a global competition against China—is gaining traction.

Warren's call for the pause on advanced AI development on Wednesday diverges from a proposal to ban superintelligence, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will champion during a roundtable event. Warren is expected to urge for a temporary pause while legislative and regulatory measures are put in place to safeguard the public. She emphasizes the urgency of passing legislation to implement robust safeguards before AI contributes to cyberattacks, economic turmoil, or national security threats.

Sanders' proposal similarly calls for a pause and a ban on superintelligence, with penalties up to 20 years in prison for non-compliance, likened to those for illicit nuclear weapons development. While the progressive movement shows no consensus on the specifics of AI regulation, Warren and Sanders have released distinct AI tax proposals.

Warren advocates for taxing AI companies, whereas Sanders favors government ownership of equity in these firms. Notably, industry leaders have endorsed a cautious approach towards frontier AI development and international cooperation. Warren contends that the industry's pace-setting efforts fall short, arguing that elected officials should make decisions about the technology's trajectory.

She criticizes suggestions to relax antitrust regulations to address AI risks as self-serving. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has proposed an antitrust exemption to facilitate AI pacing, a notion dismissed by former antitrust officials as unnecessary, as the current law does not prohibit AI companies from collaborating to mitigate risks and share cybersecurity data.

As more prominent Democrats endorse the idea of AI pause amidst the Trump administration's outright rejection, figures like Kamala Harris and Barack Obama have also expressed support for slowing down AI development. The consensus among Democrats, however, remains elusive regarding the government's role in regulating AI.