Barack Obama urges potential 2028 Democratic candidates to develop detailed plans for AI

The former president is not prescribing a specific policy, but wants prospective candidates to develop clear frameworks for addressing AI.

Former President Barack Obama is privately urging Democrats considering 2028 presidential campaigns to develop more detailed plans for artificial intelligence, warning that the technology could reshape jobs, national security, children’s lives and democracy.

According to CNN, Barack Obama has been speaking with prospective Democratic candidates, AI executives, academics and technology experts as the party debates how much regulation is needed. Obama has increasingly focused on AI since leaving the White House, and people familiar with his conversations told CNN that he has been encouraging Democrats to treat the technology as both a policy and political issue.

He has spoken with leaders from companies including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic while also discussing AI with potential 2028 Democratic contenders. Obama is not pushing candidates to adopt a specific proposal. Instead, he has been urging them to understand the technology and develop a framework for addressing its potential effects.

His senior adviser Eric Schultz told CNN that Obama believes the scale of the disruption requires an informed public discussion. “Its effects on our economy and our democracy will depend on the choices we make,” Schultz said.

Obama has also said he favors what he describes as a “serious regulatory framework,” comparing the need for standards to federal oversight in areas such as food and aviation. During a September appearance at Colgate University, Obama questioned why some applications of AI would require systems operating freely across the internet when other technological goals could be achieved without them.

The debate comes as potential Democratic presidential candidates work out their positions on a rapidly changing technology. Former FTC Chair Lina Khan has argued that the discussion should focus not only on futuristic AI risks but also on immediate effects such as data-center demands on electricity and water and the ways AI is changing everyday services.

The political debate is unfolding alongside a broader disagreement in Washington over regulation. President Donald Trump has backed a voluntary approach involving AI companies, while Democrats and some technology leaders have called for stronger safeguards.