Former US President Barack Obama said Democrats need to prepare a “very clear plan” on the economic impacts and safety of artificial intelligence. At a Democratic donor event where Hakeem Jeffries interviewed him, Obama said Democrats should establish a framework for a public discussion on artificial intelligence if they regain the House majority. According to The New York Times, which reported his remarks, Obama said the technology was advancing rapidly in the hands of private companies and could be dangerous if it was not brought under control. At the same time, he said artificial intelligence could contribute to the treatment of diseases by accelerating drug development.
Jeffries said decisive action was needed on artificial intelligence and accused Republicans of failing to fulfill their responsibility to govern on behalf of the public. Obama was also reported to have met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, offering support to artificial intelligence executives for an exchange of ideas.
After a researcher who resigned from Anthropic warned that companies were moving toward “self-improving superintelligence” and putting human life at risk, Amodei outlined a comprehensive approach to safety. The plan calls for independent safety evaluators to have access to companies and models, as well as the development of common safety standards. Altman announced that OpenAI would accept independent evaluators with access similar to that of employees.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said the US must remain a leader in artificial intelligence and stated that safety measures could be implemented. rel.
Why it matters
This debate shows that the economic opportunities and security risks of artificial intelligence need to be addressed within the same political framework. While potential benefits such as drug development come to the fore, the concentration of control in private companies and warnings about self-improving systems are increasing the need for oversight. The proposal that independent evaluators should be able to access companies and models is important in ensuring that security assessments are not left solely to companies’ own statements. The search for common standards aims to make different companies’ approaches to security comparable. However, the question that remains open is how these proposals will be transformed from a framework for public debate into concrete security rules, and to what extent political actors will be able to reach common ground on the issue.
Background
Obama is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published a news story mentioning this name in the last 90 days; that article is dated 13 September 2026.