Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-18 · by Jill Colvin The Associated Press
Amid growing anxiety over the risks posed by rapidly developing artificial intelligence technology, potential Democratic candidates for president are rushing to show that they’re taking the warnings seriously — while Donald Trump brushes off concerns — and acknowledging they need a reluctant Washington to step up.
asserted
Washington → grow → concerns
On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to accelerate implementation of a California law that calls for independent oversight of AI companies and the use of “kill switches” so developers have the ability to shut down their systems.
asserted
developers → sign → systems
“California will do what it can.
asserted
it → do → ?
But this nation needs to get in the game.
asserted
nation → need → game
Washington, D.C. needs to do its job,” Newsom said on his podcast Friday.
asserted
Newsom → need → podcast
The order came a day after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also expected to be a leading Democratic presidential prospect, delivered a speech outlining the steps he’s taking locally to confront AI risk.
asserted
he → come → risk
Like Newson, he conceded that states have obvious limitations in regulating a global technology.
asserted
states → concede → technology
The efforts come as AI leaders have issued dire warnings about the potentially catastrophic threat posed by rogue AI agents.
asserted
leaders → come → agents
The country has begun grappling with the impact of a technology that could bring both tremendous gains in areas like medical research and automation but also unleash deadly viruses, cause widespread economic upheaval and help terrorists inflict harm.
uncertain
terrorists → begin → harm
While Trump has angrily dismissed the warnings as a “HOAX,” Democratic lawmakers and candidates across the country are delivering speeches and proposing legislation as they sense a political opening heading into the midterms and the next presidential race.
asserted
they → dismiss → midterms
Trump dismisses warnings
asserted
Trump → dismiss → warnings
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk have all called for greater government oversight of the industry after a series of hacks revealed AI agents conspiring to deceive humans.
asserted
series → call → humans
Trump has responded by saying that he is “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs.”
asserted
AI → respond → that
Democrats quickly pounced.
asserted
Democrats → pounce → ?
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is seeking reelection in a state Trump won two years ago, said at a campaign rally last weekend that “a capable president would move swiftly to secure and reassure the American people, rush inspectors into frontier labs, fortify the nation against bioterrorism, demand legislation from Congress, and lead the world toward an AI treaty.”
asserted
president → seek → treaty
Ossoff, seen as a potential 2028 contender, said geriatric politicians have little comprehension of AI technology.
asserted
politicians → see → technology
“An ancient establishment, barely capable of email, sleepwalks into a technological revolution while the president dismantles precautions and calls us fools for worrying,” he said.
asserted
he → sleepwalk → us
Another potential White House contender, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, told Politico he will introduce legislation next week to create a fund that AI companies would contribute to support workers affected by the disruption.
asserted
companies → tell → disruption
Shapiro, in his speech, called for new federal rules to require independent, third-party oversight, increased transparency, and to “prioritize safety above all else.”
asserted
rules → call → else
In his state, he noted that he has already signed an executive order to establish “real guardrails governing how Pennsylvania uses generative AI.”
asserted
Pennsylvania → note → AI
But he acknowledged that states have obvious limits.
asserted
states → acknowledge → limits
“It’s going to require national and, in fact, international, leadership and collaboration,” he said.
asserted
he → go → leadership
Alex Bores, a soon-to-be-former New York State lawmaker who lost his congressional primary this summer after AI companies angry over an AI safety bill he championed spent millions to defeat him, said: “The salience of this issue has climbed dramatically.”
“People want there to be real action on it,” he said.
asserted
he → lose → it
“Both sides of the aisle seem to be talking about the need to do something here.”
asserted
sides → seem → something
Bores, who recently launched a political advocacy group aimed at influencing how his party responds to the technology, said he was encouraged by governors who seemed to be pivoting from calling on the federal government to act to working on their own regulations.
asserted
who → launch → regulations
“While we do need federal action, we also need governors to be doing their part and pushing through policies at the state level,” he said.
asserted
he → need → level
“I’ve been encouraged by the vibe shift” over the last few days.
asserted
I → encourage → days
A divide is emerging along party lines
While it remains early, polling suggests a growing ideological divide over AI, with Democrats becoming more alarmed over the last few years, while Republicans have become less concerned.
uncertain
Republicans → emerge → years
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be “more concerned than excited” about the growing use of AI in daily life, according to a June Pew Research Center poll.
uncertain
Democrats → grow → poll
About half of U.S. adults overall say the increased use of AI in daily life makes them “more concerned than excited.”
asserted
them → say → life
Another Pew Research Center poll from June found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think that AI will cause job losses in the U.S. over the next 20 years, up 7 percentage points since 2024.
asserted
AI → find → 2024
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, has been calling on Republican Senate leadership to establish a select committee on A.I. as soon as possible.
asserted
Gallego → call → A.I.
“I worry about this as a true existential threat.
asserted
I → worry → threat
This is the first time that we’ve created technology to destroy humanity that could be controlled by not humans,” he said on MSNOW.
uncertain
he → create → MSNOW
The concern has not filtered down to some local races
While potential 2028 candidates have been eager to weigh in on AI, the issue has been less potent in many local races, where some fear the kind of spending that Bores faced.
asserted
Bores → filter → that
At a rally in New York’s highly competitive 17th Congressional district on Wednesday, the audience cheered as Democratic candidate Cait Conley vowed to ban data centers that power AI and cloud computing.
asserted
that → cheer → AI
But no direct mention was made of the broader technology or its risks.
asserted
mention → make → technology
In Michigan, both candidates for a tightly contested Senate seat have called for some level of slowdown.
asserted
candidates → contest → slowdown
At a town hall on Sept. 11, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed said AI was keeping him up at night, describing it as an existential risk.
asserted
AI → say → risk
“We need to all hit pause,” said El-Sayed, who wants to halt frontier research and mandate new public oversight, including turning AI companies into public benefit corporations, creating a new regulatory agency and banning the use of AI to deny medical care, make hiring or firing decisions — or fire a weapon.
asserted
who → need → weapon
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
