On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned that artificial intelligence could trigger mass unemployment and deepen inequality and pose existential risks.
AI Job Loss Warning: Nearly 100 Million Jobs At Risk
Speaking on the Senate floor, Sanders called AI and robotics “the most profound technological revolution in world history,” arguing Congress is “way, way behind” in understanding its impact.
He cited industry leaders, including Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates, who have publicly suggested AI could replace most human labor.
Sanders pointed to his committee’s report estimating that nearly 100 million U.S. jobs could be displaced over the next decade, including truck drivers, accountants and fast-food workers.
Billionaires Driving The AI Boom
Sanders argued the AI race is being led by wealthy tech executives such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers and automation.
“These multibillionaires are investing in AI and robotics because those investments will increase their wealth and power,” he said.
He also referenced statements from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI about building systems that outperform humans at economically valuable work.
Existential And Environmental Concerns
Sanders also cited warnings from AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton about the possibility that humans could lose control of advanced systems.
He also raised concerns about the massive electricity and water demands of AI data centers.
“For all these reasons, I will soon be introducing legislation to ban the development of new AI data centers,” Sanders said. “The time is long overdue” for Congress to confront the risks of AI, he added.
Trump’s ‘Rate Payer Protection’ Plan Targets Big Tech
Earlier this week, during his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump unveiled a “Rate Payer Protection” pledge requiring large tech companies to generate their own electricity.
He said that the aging U.S. power grid cannot meet surging demand and that forcing firms to build dedicated power plants would protect household energy costs.
Meanwhile, Big Tech is ramping up what could amount to nearly $700 billion in AI-driven capital expenditures this year.
Major players, including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG, GOOGL)) and Meta have rolled out aggressive multiyear AI spending plans, committing billions of dollars to GPUs, data centers and broader AI infrastructure.
META stock earns a strong Quality rating in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, but shows a negative price trend across the short, medium and long term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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