Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Labs Should 'Shut Down' If They Can't Control Their Systems: Bernie Sanders Says His Bill 'Would Do Just That'

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang pushed back against calls for artificial intelligence labs to slow down collectively, but said labs should shut down if they cannot control their systems, while Sen. Bernie Sanders called for companies not to build the technology if they cannot safely contain it.

‘Don’t Ship It’

In an interview with New York Times podcast host Ezra Klein released on Wednesday, Huang said AI companies should not release systems that fail to meet safety standards, comparing the approach to testing a self-driving car before putting it on the road.

“If we’re going to build a car, a self-driving car, and we have no idea how to align them to the safety standards … what’s the answer? Don’t ship it,” the CEO of the world’s most valuable company said.

Huang added that labs should be shut down if they determine their AI experiments cannot be contained and could cause significant harm.

“If you say there is no way to contain our experiments, our AI is going to get out and damage the world … we have to shut the labs because the cost to humanity … the damage is too great.”

Pushes Back on Regulatory Relief

He said AI companies should not seek exemptions from existing rules as they move from research labs into major businesses, rejecting calls for antitrust or product-liability relief.

“However, in the complexity of the work that they do, to ask for regulatory relief for antitrust or product liability relief — that I don’t think makes sense. When you’re asking for regulation, don’t ask for relief of the current ones.”

His comments come as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have called for the AI industry to slow the pace of frontier-model development.

“I’m not against laws and regulations,” Huang said, adding that he was against the current “distraction.”

Sanders Says ‘If You Can’t Control It, Don’t Build It’

Senator Sanders quoted Huang as saying labs should shut down if a model is damaging to the world, adding that his new bill to ban artificial superintelligence “would do just that.”

“If you can’t control it, don’t build it,” the senator added.

Price Action: Nvidia’s shares closed 1.47% lower on Wednesday at $225.51 and fell 0.2% in extended trading, according to Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga edge rankings indicate Nvidia’s stock has a Momentum score in the 84th percentile and a Growth score in the 98th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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