Former President Barack Obama is calling on Democrats to make artificial intelligence a central policy priority, urging the party to develop a detailed and clear plan for addressing the technology’s rapid advancement.
Speaking at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser on Thursday, Obama said that if he were running for president in 2028, AI would be one of his main agenda items. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach that covers safety, economic impacts, and public understanding.
Obama’s Call for a Comprehensive AI Plan
Obama described himself as neither an “accelerationist” nor a “doomer” when it comes to AI, but he stressed that the technology cannot be ignored. “If I were running for president next year, this would be one of my central agendas, and I would have a very clear plan,” he said. “I would talk about this, and I would say, ‘Here’s our plan for safety, here’s our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this.’ … I would be thinking about the economic impacts in very concrete ways and understanding what does it mean if there’s going to be job displacement.”
His remarks were made during a discussion with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and were provided to NBC News by Obama’s office.
Encouraging a Public Conversation
Obama urged Jeffries to convene a public conversation on AI once Democrats regain the majority. “Once you are speaker, I would strongly urge that the Democrats put together a framework for a very public conversation, and you can break it out into three or four or five issues and lay the foundation for a broad public conversation,” he said.
The former president acknowledged both the risks and benefits of 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. If we do get on top of it, I do think it’s beneficial,” Obama said. He noted that AI could help accelerate the curing of diseases and clean energy. “We don’t want to shut off those opportunities, but we have to understand that this is a tool.”
Industry Warnings and Political Reactions
A source familiar with Obama’s thinking said the former president viewed recent comments from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as an “encouraging development.” Amodei wrote over the weekend that the speed of AI development was outpacing safety guardrails, prompting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk to speak out in agreement.
Their statements came as researchers left AI companies citing safety concerns. Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said he was leaving the company over concerns that AI could cause “human extinction” without international cooperation.
The wave of warnings prompted Democrats to call on House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene an emergency session on AI. Johnson said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that regulating the technology was important, but Congress could not “rush in,” citing industry leaders who he said did not yet know how to slow down AI’s pace. Johnson said he would “summon the platform providers all to one big meeting and work this out together in the same room.”
President Donald Trump told reporters in Ireland on Sunday that “whoever wins AI wins,” dismissing safety concerns while suggesting his priority for the U.S. was for the country to beat China in the technology’s development.