The governance question around artificial intelligence arrived in Washington on Tuesday with unusual political range. The Future of Life Institute hosted an event in the capital where lawmakers and advocates pressed Congress and the Trump administration to act on the expanding technology. Both remain idle.
Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon were among those calling for oversight. These are figures who share almost no political common ground, and their joint presence at a Future of Life Institute event on AI regulation signals that the push for oversight has assembled a coalition running across the full span of American political opinion.
The event was structured as a direct appeal. Lawmakers were in the room. Advocates made the case for regulatory action, framing the goal as reining in a technology they argued is growing without sufficient constraint.
Congress has not acted. The Trump administration has not acted. Tuesday's gathering in Washington put the case directly to the lawmakers who were present to hear it. Whether either branch moves is the question the Future of Life Institute left open.