Barack Obama Warns AI Could Trigger 'Catastrophe,' Calls For Safety Laws

Former President Barack Obama voiced support for federal laws and regulations governing artificial intelligence safety, saying that the technology could unleash "potential catastrophe" if not properly managed. In a statement Monday, Obama said that AI policy "should be at the center of our public debate" and said that Washington policymakers must "get proactive" in crafting proposals "that deal with serious safety concerns, anticipate AI's impact on jobs and our kids, and make sure that AI's benefits are widely spread."The former president criticized the hands-off approach to AI regulation championed by President Donald Trump, though he did not mention his successor by name, saying that "voluntary standards made by a handful of tech companies won't be enough." A June executive order signed by Trump established an optional framework for AI developers to give the government advanced access to frontier models in order to review potential security risks. "Given what we know about technology, we…