Former US President Barack Obama warned that artificial intelligence could be “dangerous” if not managed properly and called on Democrats to develop policies and governance programs to address the problem.New York Times The announcement was made on Sunday (September 13, 2026). | Photo credit: AP
Former US President Barack Obama warned that artificial intelligence could be “dangerous” if not managed properly and called on Democrats to develop policies and governance programs to address the problem.New York Times The announcement was made on Sunday (September 13, 2026).
The remarks at a recent private fundraising event come as a growing number of US lawmakers call for stricter regulations on “artificial intelligence systems” following dire warnings from two anthropic researchers that the industry’s rapid progress risks the extinction of the human race.
“This is something that is moving very quickly in private hands, and if we don’t get a handle on it, I think it could be dangerous,” the newspaper quoted Obama as saying on Thursday (September 13, 2026).
Citing a partial transcript of Obama administration remarks, the newspaper reported that he called on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to help shape the public conversation on AI policy if Democrats retake the House in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
“Once you become speaker, I urge Democrats to create a framework for public conversation,” Mr. Obama told Mr. Jeffries, the newspaper added.
He also called on candidates in the 2028 presidential race to make artificial intelligence one of their top priorities, with a very clear plan to address the security and economic challenges associated with it, the newspaper reported.
Mr. Obama’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
Fears of extinction have been fueled by cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems, and AI security researchers leaving their companies concerned about the risks posed by the technology.
On Saturday (September 12, 2026), Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on artificial intelligence companies to scale back work on model capabilities amid growing concerns about AI misuse, prompting agreement from both OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who runs xAI.
Published – September 13, 2026 12:01 pm EST.