Dozens of conservatives demanded the U.S. government place tighter guardrails on artificial intelligence, voicing concern that “unelected elites” could wield undue control over it.
More than 60 people affiliated with President Donald Trump, including former senior adviser Steve Bannon, urged the White House to mandate an executive review of the most powerful AI models before they’re released, Axios reported. It comes after Google, Microsoft, Elon Musk’s xAI, and other major technology companies agreed to hand the government early access to their most advanced AI models for national security reviews before they are released to the public.
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“America did not become the greatest nation in the world by allowing unelected elites to experiment on the public without safeguards or accountability,” read the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner and organized by conservative group Humans First. “America First means American strength, American security, and the protection of our people first.”
“Some of the world’s largest AI companies are operating with little accountability while racing to build increasingly powerful systems,” it continued. “We know that we cannot trust these companies to police themselves.
The Trump administration has taken a hands-on approach to AI, pushing Congress to pass a national framework regulating the technology that forgoes a “patchwork of conflicting state laws,” as it transforms sectors ranging from the military to the healthcare industry. The White House believes it is of strategic importance to stay on top of the technology to keep an edge on competitors such as China. Trump discussed the topic with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting last week, revealing they “talked about possibly working together for guardrails.”
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While Trump has conceded that AI will likely have a seismic impact on the labor market, his team has been bullish about the technological advancement, arguing it is likely to create “a lot” of new jobs. Conservative groups such as Humans First are less confident, expressing fear about a reality where AI could eliminate livelihoods, amid polling indicating a decisive majority of the public believes AI “will decrease jobs.”
“We support proposed policies that require mandatory testing, evaluation, vetting, and government approval of potentially dangerous frontier AI systems before they are deployed,” Human First’s letter read. “Nuclear materials are strictly controlled. Aviation systems undergo rigorous certification. The most powerful AI systems, which can now, or soon will be able to, assist in designing bioweapons, breaking into critical infrastructure, or manipulating financial markets, should be treated with the same seriousness and care.”
