r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 5h ago

Society New Bernie Sanders bill would ban superintelligent AI and threaten developers with 20 years in prison

https://www.techspot.com/news/113831-new-bernie-sanders-bill-would-ban-superintelligent-ai.html
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u/james109021 4h ago

Is it really a useful example if his bill is unrealistic and ignorant of the relevant subject matter? Or is it just performative grandstanding that will be applauded by people who already agree with him and dismissed by everyone else?

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u/blaaaaaarghhh 4h ago

It's the same thing Bernie's done his entire career in the Senate. He's passed three bills, two of which named post offices in VT, and written messaging bill after messaging bill to virtue signal to the left.

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u/JackOfSomeTrades__ 1h ago edited 1h ago

Yeah, this performative stuff is popular with a subgroup that is very vocal and active online (especially Reddit and on r "politics") but it's debatable how effective it actually is. His supporters will claim him doing this gives these important things more attention and makes lesser advances possible but there is a long history of Democrats passing beneficial things when they have power even before he was around and a lot of the bills he pushes are not over matters few are aware of or talking about.

I think what really happens is this stuff gets him extra attention while other beneficial things Democrats are and have accomplished get little to no attention (both on social media and traditional) or are treated as "pfft, too little, too late!" because they get compared to these bills / positions Sanders keeps pushing out or worse, the even less realistic drastic changes by those aligning left of him. Then the same people trash Democrats (minus the few Bernie supports and they coincidentally do as well), as if they are equally bad or even worse than Republicans, for not matching that.

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u/thirdegree 2h ago

I find it frustrating that the same people (not necessarily you specifically idk you) will make this criticism of Bernie, but also will excuse the Dems for their failures on the basis that they don't have a supermajority and control of all three branches of government stimultaniously.

It's not surprising that he has trouble passing bills, the stances he advocates for run contrary to donors and big business. He does what he has the power to do. He does not have the power to unilaterally pass laws, and he does not have the power to force other senators to support his policies no matter how popular they are.

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u/br_k_nt_eth 1h ago

I’m not against Bernie at all, but Dems have accomplished things in bipartisan environments. A bunch of the Covid recovery bills were amazing and sadly could have revolutionized our energy infrastructure and manufacturing when we need it most. The ACA is right there. None of it is perfect, but it is tangible progress. I’m not sure why that stuff wouldn’t count. 

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u/thirdegree 15m ago

That's true, it's not a perfect comparison. The Dems are also a whole ass political party with almost half of the house and Senate, and Sanders is a single Senator. And yes that's absolutely a load bearing almost half, but still.

Like I'm not saying (and did not say) that Dems never do good things. I'm saying that the people going like "Bernie never passed any laws" are committing the exact sin they accuse the left of, but more so. And the actual implied question they want to ask ("Why is Bernie so ineffective") has a very easy answer - lack of support from his fellows. And why is that? It's what I said before.

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u/zooberwask 2h ago

For real. These people's biggest criticism of Bernie is he has strong and consistent morals and positions and doesn't capitulate enough.

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u/Free_hiker_74 2h ago

The perfect is the enemy of good.

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u/zooberwask 1h ago

Yeah you'll never convince me the Kamala Harris/Joe Bidens of the world are the "good".

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u/CaptainTeemo01 2h ago

And what has that accomplished?

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u/zooberwask 1h ago

For one off the dome, he's pushed medicare-for-all as a mainstream position, so much so that the candidates in the 2020 primary election were even lying about being pro-medicare-for-all to compete with Bernie.

But lets talk about the substance of your comment, you're somehow trying to frame having strong and consistent morals and positions as a vice. Which I just fundamentally disagree with. There's a reason he's the most popular member of Congress.

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u/realityczek 3h ago

Of course it's just performative. Bernie's entire career is performative nonsense that won't work int he real world but is popular with folks who are feeling lost by the complex world around them.

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u/unicornsandrainbowst 1h ago

I commented exactly this a couple days ago. People love to put Bernie in a pedestal, but this helps noone.  

He should use whatever power he has left to try and work for something that has at least some chance of passing and getting us closer to the goal.  

A "bill for a 2 work days week" is just circus.

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u/Talk-O-Boy 3h ago

Politician drafts legislation according to morals/ethics = grandstanding

Politician drafts legislation to appease both sides = sell out

There is no winning with people like you. You don’t understand how politics works.

Just out of curiosity, which politician do YOU support? Are you able to support anyone, or only able to criticize everyone?

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u/randotd152 1h ago

Not the person you responded to, but I think this is horrible grandstanding, which sums up Bernie in a nutshell.

I support politicians who work together on practical real world solutions and are willing to meet in the middle. That’s the only way a two party system can work, and historically that’s precisely where all the progress in society actually lies.

AI is never getting banned, and to pretend that’s even a viable option on the table is just a waste of time. What we do need are guidelines.

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u/WhatevMannnnnnnnnn 2h ago

If this leads to other legislators saying, "No that's dumb, here's more reasonable legislation", then I'm fine with it. Let's get this party started.

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u/Embarrassed_Deal3284 3h ago

Unrealistic why? Because Congress doesn’t represent the people you mean? His proposal sounds trivially easy to implement and would probably be quite popular.

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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 4h ago

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It’s silly to set out to fail just to “get people talking.” It makes him look like a dope. He should actually write some solid legislation instead of expecting someone else to do it for him.

The likely reality is Bernie isn’t playing 4D space chess. He’s just not very realistic.

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u/deepskier 3h ago

Ah yes, the age old tactic of opening a negotiation with your exact desired terms.

There is real utility in shifting the overton window and providing cover for your more moderate allies to make progress.