David Sacks, the US crypto and AI czar, issued a stark warning on Monday about the potential for artificial intelligence to enable "Orwellian" levels of surveillance on citizens. Speaking on Andreessen Horowitz's The Ben & Marc Show, Sacks emphasized that the greatest threat from AI isn't machines turning against humans, but rather its misuse for political control and information distortion.
He criticized the Biden administration and Democratic-run states like California and Colorado for their aggressive push for AI consumer protection rules aimed at addressing "algorithmic discrimination." Sacks argued that excessive regulation could mold AI to reflect government biases, erasing inconvenient truths and distorting history in real time. "What we’re really talking about is Orwellian AI. We’re talking about AI that lies to you, that distorts an answer, that rewrites history in real time to serve a current political agenda of the people who are in power," he stated.
Sacks highlighted the surveillance risks, noting that AI, as a personal assistant, could become a tool for government monitoring and control. He advocated for regulations targeting individuals who misuse AI, rather than blanket rules that stifle developers, pointing to existing anti-discrimination laws as sufficient for enforcement.
In a related controversy, Sacks accused the AI firm Anthropic of fear-mongering to influence policies, leading to a rebuttal from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who denied the claims and emphasized support for federal oversight. Sacks also contrasted the Trump administration's approach, favoring regulatory certainty for crypto to support the industry, while promoting innovation in AI with a lighter touch.
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