Obama urges Democrats to build a clear plan for AI safeguards

Former U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Democrats to put artificial intelligence at the center of their political agenda and develop a clear plan for its economic and safety implications. TechCrunch reported the comments after a Democratic fundraising event on Thursday, where Obama was interviewed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Obama’s office provided a partial transcript of the conversation, according to The New York Times.

Obama said that, if Democrats regain control of the House, the party should create a framework for a broad public discussion about AI. His concern is that the technology is advancing quickly while remaining largely in private hands. He warned that AI could be dangerous if society fails to address the risks, but also argued that it could bring substantial benefits when managed well. He pointed to possible advances in drug development and medical research as one example.

Jeffries said in a statement that Obama was right to call for decisive action. The Democratic leader also criticized Republicans for what he described as a failure to govern on AI. Obama’s intervention therefore places AI policy inside a growing U.S. political debate about oversight, jobs, economic power and the pace of technological development.

The former president has also offered to act as a sounding board for AI executives. TechCrunch reported that he has spoken with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The conversations come as concerns about frontier-model safety intensify. An Anthropic researcher recently resigned while warning that leading companies could be racing toward self-improving systems without adequate safeguards.

Amodei has proposed “pacing the frontier,” including independent access to leading AI companies and models and common safety standards. Altman said OpenAI would commit to independent evaluators with employee-like access. These proposals remain separate from a Democratic platform, but they show the policy questions now facing lawmakers: how to test powerful systems, who can inspect them, how to protect workers and consumers, and when companies should be accountable for harm. For AI users and makers, a clearer political framework could eventually mean more predictable rules, but also additional reporting, evaluation and compliance requirements.