Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser where he was interviewed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Obama stressed the urgency of congressional action on AI. “This is something that is moving very fast in private hands, and if we don’t get on top of it, I think can be dangerous,” he said, adding that if properly managed, AI could accelerate drug development and cure diseases. Obama argued that once Democrats regain the House majority, they should “put together a framework for a very public conversation.”
Jeffries issued a statement backing Obama’s call, saying “Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to govern on behalf of the American people.” The former president has also acted as a “sounding board” for AI executives, holding discussions with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The comments follow a period of heightened concern over AI safety. An Anthropic researcher recently resigned, warning that leading AI companies are “racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.” In response, Amodei outlined a plan to “pace the frontier,” including independent safety evaluators and common safety standards. Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded positively, with Altman committing OpenAI to independent evaluator access.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, downplayed AI risks at an Irish golf event on Sunday. “I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up,” he said. Trump boasted that the United States is “the most sophisticated country in the world” and stressed the importance of winning the AI race, while acknowledging that “we can put guardrails.”