Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Sanders Backs Gates Warning About AI Job Losses
Bernie Sanders and Bill Gates are worried that artificial intelligence could change work very quickly.
They think some people may permanently lose their jobs as machines do more tasks.
Gates also worries that AI could be used for cyberattacks or bioterrorism.
He is concerned about how AI companions might affect children.
Sanders wants Congress to make rules and challenge powerful technology companies.
Gates has suggested taxing robots and AI systems to help pay for retraining and social programs.
He also thinks some jobs, such as caregiving, could be kept for people.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes AI could create many new jobs instead.
Current data shows that AI is already connected to some layoffs, but it has not caused an overall collapse in employment.
Bernie Sanders endorsed Bill Gates’ warning that artificial intelligence threatens jobs and humanity’s future.
Gates identified permanent job losses, bioterrorism and cyberattacks, and AI companions’ effects on children as major concerns.
Sanders urged Congress to challenge the wealth and influence of Big Tech companies and called for a pause in frontier AI development.
Gates proposed taxes on AI tokens and robots, worker retraining, stronger social protections, and reserving some work for humans.
AI was cited in 112,713 announced US job cuts through July, while Stanford researchers found employment among some young workers below expected levels.
- Who
- Bernie Sanders, Bill Gates, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, technology companies, workers, and US lawmakers.
- What
- Sanders backed Gates’ warning about AI-related job losses and broader risks, while proposing government action and Gates offered policy ideas including AI and robot taxes.
- When
- Sanders made his endorsement late Sunday night; the figures cited cover announced US job cuts through July, and related concerns have been raised over several years.
- Where
- The political debate centers on the United States, while Gates described the risks as global.
- Why
- Sanders and Gates say AI could cause lasting job losses and create security and social risks, requiring safeguards, retraining, and stronger social protections.
AI Threat and Regulation Concerns
AI Growth and Job Creation Optimism
Effect on employment
AI Threat and Regulation Concerns
Sanders and Gates warn that AI could produce permanent job losses and fundamentally reduce the need for human labor.
AI Growth and Job Creation Optimism
Jensen Huang said AI could create jobs on an unprecedented scale and does not expect the future Gates describes.
Government intervention
AI Threat and Regulation Concerns
Sanders supports congressional action, a pause in frontier AI development, and challenging the influence of Big Tech companies.
AI Growth and Job Creation Optimism
Gates does not call for stopping AI development completely and instead proposes structural measures such as taxes, retraining, and human-reserved work.
Safety oversight
AI Threat and Regulation Concerns
Sanders and Gates argue that AI’s risks, including cyberattacks and bioterrorism, require urgent action rather than relying only on voluntary safeguards.
AI Growth and Job Creation Optimism
Gates acknowledges the risks but says a credible global slowdown is unlikely because of geopolitical and commercial pressure surrounding AI.
- AI-linked job cuts
- AI was cited in 112,713 announced US job cuts through July.
- Share of announced cuts
- AI accounted for about 24 percent of the total announced US job cuts in that period.
- Year-over-year layoffs
- Total announced layoffs were down 41 percent from the same period a year earlier.
- Young worker employment
- Stanford researchers found employment among 22-to-25-year-olds in heavily AI-exposed occupations was 19 percent below expected levels.
- Gates’ proposed tax
- Gates has proposed taxes on AI tokens and robots to help fund retraining and strengthen the social safety net.
- Human Reserved
- Gates proposed keeping certain types of work, including caregiving, deliberately reserved for humans.
- Sanders’ recent request
- Sanders wrote to the chief executives of Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic calling for a pause in frontier AI development.