The rare display of bipartisan concern at the same Washington gathering reflects deepening anxiety over unregulated AI, with politicians in both parties questioning Trump's hands-off approach even as the technology raises fears about job losses, safety and the concentration of power among a handful of tech companies.
"AI has the potential to eliminate tens of millions of jobs, wiping out entire professions and making it harder for our young people to enter the workforce," Sanders said.
He added, "As many scientists believe could happen, this technology will escape human control with potentially catastrophic consequences."
Sanders drew applause from the room when he criticised tech executives for centralising control over AI technology, including SpaceX CEO and former Trump adviser Elon Musk.
"Last month, we learned that AI has been used for the first time ever to create new viruses. In the wrong hands, this could lead to new bioweapons and a potential global pandemic that could lead to the deaths of tens of millions of people," Sanders said.
Sanders called on Trump to negotiate a treaty with Chinese President Xi Jinping at their summit next week to pause AI development.
Bannon, a former White House strategist during Trump's first presidential term, has criticised Trump's approach to overseeing AI, placing the blame for the president's unwillingness to regulate the technology squarely on tech companies.
Bannon praised Sanders for the way he summarised the risks of AI and said the US has to rise above partisanship on the issue.
"I don't think you could find any too harder partisans than Bernie Sanders on the left and Steve Bannon on the right," he said.
Bannon said Congress will take too long to pass legislation slowing the development of AI. "This is going to have to be executive action," he said.
He said the US must cut off China from American-made computer chips.
Trump on Monday downplayed concerns expressed by industry leaders over the weekend about the misuse of artificial intelligence harming people, saying the US already has guardrails in place for the powerful technology.
Backing Trump's position, Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson said there cannot be a moratorium on artificial intelligence development without losing the competitive edge to China and that AI companies can regulate themselves.
"They can self-regulate. They don't need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should," Johnson told reporters.
The view that regulations will harm US companies' ability to compete with their Chinese counterparts is shared by tech executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI company Anthropic, speaking in San Francisco, called for better AI safety standards. "Let's invest more in safety," he said.
