Former President Barack Obama told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that Democrats should make artificial intelligence one of their “central agendas” and develop “a very clear plan” to address the technology’s economic impact and safety, according to The New York Times. Speaking Thursday at a Democratic fundraising event, Obama said that once Democrats regain the House majority, they need to “put together a framework for a very public conversation.” He warned that AI is “moving very fast in private hands” and that without action it “can be dangerous,” while also expressing optimism that the technology could accelerate drug development and help cure diseases.

Jeffries agreed, saying “decisive action must be taken on artificial intelligence” and arguing that “Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to govern on behalf of the American people.” The NYT also reported that Obama has acted as a “sounding board” for AI executives and has spoken with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The comments arrive amid heightened AI safety concerns, particularly after an AI researcher resigned from Anthropic and claimed leading AI companies are “racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.” On Saturday, Amodei outlined a broad “pacing the frontier” approach that would include giving independent safety evaluators access to leading AI companies and models, and developing common safety standards between companies. Altman responded positively, saying OpenAI would also commit to “having independent evaluators with employee-like access,” while Elon Musk also appeared to respond favorably on social media.

President Donald Trump also discussed AI safety with reporters on Sunday, boasting that the United States is “the most sophisticated country in the world” and saying, “whoever wins AI wins.” He suggested guardrails are possible but claimed “a lot of negative forces” are raising concerns “that shouldn’t be bringing it up.” Earlier this year, the Trump administration released a legislative AI framework that would preempt state laws and shift the child safety burden to parents.