Ben Shapiro
Role at the time: Host, The Ben Shapiro Show
Statement summary
Commentator Ben Shapiro said AI risks are being exaggerated by people with "a very strong interest in regulatory capture" who want to write the regulations themselves. In a separate interview the same day, he pointed to Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon holding an event with the whistleblower from Anthropic and said the push to stop AI "feels like a coordinated operation" in favor of government regulation.
“It feels like a coordinated operation to stop the progress of AI in favor of government regulation. I think one argument is that the risks are being exaggerated by people who have a very strong interest in regulatory capture, who want to write the regulations themselves.”
Grabien's transcript excerpt of Ben Shapiro's appearance on Fox Business's Kudlow. Shapiro says Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon are holding an event with the whistleblower from Anthropic to suggest AI needs to be stopped, and Larry Kudlow interjects "From Anthropic." Fox Business posted the segment under the headline "Ben Shapiro warns Democrats' push for AI regulation is a 'coordinated operation'."
Why we used this label
Shapiro does not dispute Anthropic's technical claims directly but reframes the recursive-self-improvement safety warnings as self-interested 'regulatory capture,' challenging the characterization of the warnings as disinterested rather than defending or condemning Anthropic's conduct outright.