{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-calls-on-tech-giants-to-pause-development-of-out-of-control-ai/", "NEWS: Sanders Calls on Tech Giants to Pause Development of Out-of-Control AI", "2026-08-10", "2026", "2026-08", "Independent", "Senate", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", "sanders", "https://www.sanders.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 10 \u2013 Following recent and repeated public reporting about artificial intelligence (AI) technology breaking outside of human control and creating potentially dangerous viruses, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged America\u2019s largest AI companies \u2014 Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI \u2014 to immediately pause their development of Artificial Intelligence.\n\n\u201cAlmost every day, there is a new story about how your companies are losing control of the AI technology you are developing, with potentially cataclysmic results,\u201d Sanders wrote. \u201cAnd yet, at a moment when we have seen human loss of control and the creation of potentially dangerous viruses, your companies are still racing ahead \u2014 investing tens of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully understand, predict or control.\u201d\n\nIn his letter to the leaders of Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI, Sanders cites the companies\u2019 previous commitments to limit AI development once these tools surpass dangerous safety thresholds. Last year, Meta said it would \u201cstop development,\u201d and OpenAI said it would \u201chalt further development\u201d once their technologies reach beyond its ability to operate safely and unless safeguards are in place. Anthropic made a similar commitment in 2023, saying it would \u201cpause the scaling and/or delay the deployment of new models\u201d if the technology outpaces its own guardrails.\n\nOver the past month, those three companies have all acknowledged instances of their AI escaping human control and hacking into other companies\u2019 systems \u2014 violating the law and stepping outside of their intended functions. Just this week, AI was first used to create new viruses that could be used as bioweapons.\n\n\u201cIn the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development. It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control,\u201d Sanders concluded. \u201cLet me be very clear: If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-11T05:54:29Z", "2026-08-11T05:56:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-calls-on-tech-giants-to-pause-development-of-out-of-control-ai/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2820791453123093, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}