Gov. Pritzker: AI is dangerous ‘on the level of nuclear weapons’
The Illinois governor called for federal regulation of AI.
With calls to regulate AI growing, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker urged Congress to pass federal guardrails on the technology.
“You can't do this state by state. This needs to be a national effort as well as an international endeavor, especially together with our allies, because AI is not going to go away,” Pritzker told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an exclusive interview that aired Sunday.
Pritzker touted legislation he signed in Illinois in July requiring AI companies to conduct annual third-party audits of their safety plans and disclose safety incidents to the state. He urged Congress to make federal regulations a top priority, calling the technology “dangerous on the level of nuclear weapons.”
President Donald Trump has called AI fears a “hoax” and announced he is forming an “AI Force” to accelerate growth in the industry. Pritzker said that approach is a mistake.
“They are okay with just letting it, you know, run rampant and let the leaders of it self-govern and self-regulate, and I think that's a mistake because we clearly have seen that there are breakouts that they don't control, and they haven't had any real interest in it,” Pritzker said. “We don't need to shut it down entirely. What we need to do is make sure it doesn't get out of control.”
But Pritzker said he doesn’t support Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposal to ban superintelligence.
“I think that you're not going to be able to is the point,” Pritzker said. “That's not going to happen because it's not like AI doesn't exist in the world already.”
With less than seven weeks remaining until the midterm elections, AI has emerged as a political issue for both parties, but it is far from the only issue on which Democrats are looking to go on offense.
While Pritzker is running for reelection as governor, he is also supporting Democratic candidates around the country. Pritzker said his party is promoting a message focused on mitigating rising costs by giving Americans more money, partially by raising the minimum wage.
“Democrats are fighting to lower costs, and we're fighting to put money in people's pockets,” Pritzker said. “Remember, it isn't often that prices go down. What we really need to do to make things more affordable, put more money in people's pockets, and that means raising the minimum wage.”
During an appearance on the “All In” podcast Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance urged voters to “give us another chance.” Pritzker pushed back against the comment.
“The problem is they've had too many chances already, and they've made mistakes over and over and over again,” Pritzker said. “They don't deserve another chance. It's time to give Democrats the reins, at least in Congress right now, so that they can put a check on what Donald Trump has been doing to working families.”
Democrats are favored to take back the House in November amid poor approval ratings for the president and recent polling showing them far ahead in the race to control Congress. But some of those same polls also show that congressional Democrats, and the party itself, are very unpopular.
Asked about the Democratic party’s standing, Pritzker pointed to a general distrust in government.
“People don't trust government and they don't trust that their problems are going to be addressed. I believe that if you're going to regain the trust of the public, it's got to be about delivering for them,” Pritzker said.
“One of the reasons Donald Trump won the first time around was because he was promising to blow it all up. Right? He was going to drain the swamp,” Pritzker added. “And why were people looking for it? Because nobody ever did anything for them.”
In some states this cycle, Democrats were worried not only about beating Republicans, but also some fellow Democrats. Candidates from the progressive and Democratic Socialist wings of the party mounted several challenges to Democratic incumbents in congressional primaries this cycle, many of them successful.
Republicans quickly adopted the Democratic divide as a campaign issue, with some branding them “communists.”
2028 and Pritzker’s political future
If Pritzker wins reelection as governor, his term will end in 2029. But some speculate Pritzker will pursue a run for president in 2028, before the end of his term -- something he has not ruled out. However, Pritzker did not say whether he would run for president in 2028, telling Karl that he believes the Democrats have many other strong options.
“All I can tell you is that I believe we have some really great people who are contemplating running for president,” Pritzker said. “It may be the best bench that we've seen among Democrats for many, many years.”
“The question is, who's bold enough, right? Who's really putting [a] big agenda out there and has proven that they can get something done,” he added. “We've got to go fight for the people who have had nobody fighting for them for too many years.”
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