A coalition of more than 60 MAGA allies on Monday urged the president to test and approve the most powerful AI models before they are released.
Significant signers of the letter include War Room host Steve Bannon and conservative anti-AI activists Amy Kremer and Brendan Steinhauser. The letter vocalizes the part of the MAGA coalition that has concerns about the burgeoning technology, as the White House has a light-touch stance to AI.
The Trump administration has sought to advance AI through reducing regulations and fighting state-based regulations of AI.
WATCH — Sen. Banks on AI: U.S. Must Beat China or “They’ll Seize the Moment and Dominate Us”:
“This letter takes us next level,” Bannon told Axios. “The letter lays out [that] we must have mandatory testing and government approval.”
The coalition letter was organized by Humans First, a conservative group that believes that “technology should serve humans first … not replace them.”
“The most powerful AI systems, which can now, or soon will be able to, assist in designing bioweapons, breaking into critical infrastructure, or manipulating financial markets, should be treated with the same seriousness and care,” the coalition letter stated:
For this reason, we support proposed policies that require mandatory testing, evaluation, vetting, and government approval of potentially dangerous frontier AI systems before they are deployed. This is the sort of strong, principled, and pragmatic leadership you have shown throughout your presidency.
“America did not become the greatest nation in the world by allowing unelected elites to experiment on the public without safeguards or accountability. America First means American strength, American security, and the protection of our people first,” the letter stated in a veiled shot at AI tech executives.
The Trump administration is considering a plan that would require the Department of War to safety test AI models before they are deployed to federal, state, and local governments.