The race to build more powerful artificial intelligence could leave people facing a choice between merging with machines and being replaced by them, Sen. Bernie Sanders warned in a video posted Saturday, Oct. 17.
He accused technology billionaires of pursuing a future in which humans no longer control the planet.
“Should human beings remain in control of planet Earth or should we be replaced as the dominant species?” Sanders asked.
Tech oligarchs want to replace the human race
The independent senator from Vermont said the ideas advanced by some of the people financing AI development should “scare the hell out of all of us.” His warning accompanied a renewed demand for an immediate pause in advanced AI development and a ban on artificial superintelligence.
His criticism draws together statements about human-machine integration, possible AI consciousness and the future of humanity, which he interprets as evidence of a dangerous willingness to move beyond the human species.
Altman’s “descendants” and Musk’s “biological bootloader”
Sanders singled out OpenAI’s Sam Altman, citing his description of a merger between humans and machines as “probably our best-case scenario.”
He quoted Altman’s prediction that humans would become “the first species ever to design our own descendants,” followed by a passage describing two possible futures:
“My guess is that we can either be the biological bootloader for digital intelligence and then fade into an evolutionary tree branch, or we can figure out what a successful merge looks like.”
The words appear in Altman’s 2017 essay “The Merge,” rather than a new statement. Sanders offered his own interpretation: “In other words, what Altman is saying is that we either face human extinction or merge with the machines.”
Sanders pointed to a more recent statement by Elon Musk, quoting an X post that said: “Propagating super intelligence to the stars is a great success condition for a biological bootloader.”
A bootloader is software that starts a computer’s operating system. Sanders interpreted Musk’s analogy as reducing humanity to a preliminary stage in the development of something that would ultimately supersede it.
“Put simply, humans with our messy biological needs are a mere step toward pure digital superintelligence, according to Musk,” Sanders said.
He also cited Musk’s Neuralink brain-implant project and its longer-term ambition of achieving a “symbiosis with artificial intelligence.” Neuralink’s clinical-trial program has a more immediate purpose: studying implanted interfaces for people with paralysis, including their ability to control digital devices.
Sanders linked these ambitions to transhumanism, which he described as an ideology seeking to transcend humanity through technology. Mocking the promises he associates with that vision, he said: “They will be infallible. They will go to the stars and conquer the universe. They will live forever.”
“If these were the fantasies of teenage boys obsessed with science fiction, we could laugh them off,” he added. “They are not.”
Thiel’s hesitation over whether humanity should survive
Sanders also revisited an exchange involving Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of Palantir, during a 2025 interview with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat.
Asked whether he preferred the human race to endure, Thiel hesitated. Sanders quoted his response as: “Uh … Well, I don’t know. I would—I would … There’s so many questions implicit in this.”
Sanders acknowledged that Thiel ultimately said humans should survive, while characterizing that answer as reluctant.
His criticism extended to Argentina, where he cited President Javier Milei’s promotion of “nonhuman corporations” operated by AI agents, in which “human shareholders may participate, but are not required.” Milei’s office has publicly defended establishing a legal framework for AI-operated companies.
AI consciousness and Sanders’ objection to machine rights
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei became another target of Sanders’ warning.
Sanders quoted Amodei as saying, “We don’t know if the models are conscious,” and adding, “But we’re open to the idea that it could be.” He portrayed that position as opening the door to civil rights for AI models.
“Civil rights for AI models. Got it,” Sanders said.
The underlying comments came from Amodei’s February interview with Douthat. In that discussion, Amodei expressed uncertainty not only about whether AI models are conscious, but also about what consciousness would mean in their case.
Anthropic has established a research program examining possible model consciousness and welfare. The company describes those questions as unresolved and says human welfare remains central to its mission.
The legislation behind Bernie Sanders’ AI warning
Sanders’ proposed response goes beyond voluntary commitments from technology companies.
He and Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act on Sept. 23. The legislation would permanently prohibit artificial superintelligence and pause advanced AI development until a new federal Department of Artificial Intelligence establishes safety rules and oversight.
The proposal defines artificial superintelligence to include systems exceeding human cognitive capabilities across most domains, or possessing sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity. It also calls for international efforts to prevent such systems from being developed elsewhere.
Sanders cited public concern to support his argument. A Quinnipiac University poll released Sept. 30 found that 91% of American adults considered AI safeguards important, 74% expressed little or no trust in AI-company leaders, and 73% were concerned that future AI systems could threaten human survival.
The survey questioned 1,202 adults Sept. 24-27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Its findings measure concern and support for safeguards, rather than public endorsement of Sanders’ specific bill.
“The future of humanity cannot be left in the hands of a handful of big tech oligarchs who are obsessed with money and power,” Sanders said. “The American people and people throughout the world must determine that future.”
“Human beings, not machines, must come first.”
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