The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is split over whether the artificial intelligence industry constitutes a destructive capitalist force that could threaten humanity, or whether it is mainly an overhyped capitalist phenomenon.
The disagreement in the largest local chapter revolves around whether the New York DSA should acknowledge that AI could lead to mass automation and to systems that escape human control — warnings that have gained salience following recent AI-enabled hacks. Some tech leaders and Democratic politicians — including Sen. Bernie Sanders, the country’s best-known socialist — have warned that without guardrails AI could pose extinction-level risks.
The Nov. 14 chapter convention and the proposed resolution
At the chapter’s convention on Nov. 14, members are expected to consider a resolution first proposed in September by two local DSA members, Alexei Gannon and Zachary Jones. The pair warn that industry “negligence” creates “the potential for loss of control of AI agents to cause catastrophic harm.”
However, the chapter’s established Tech Action Working Group (TAWG) is unconvinced about framing the issue as catastrophic risk. The self-described “techno-skeptical” committee that shapes the chapter’s technology policy argues that apocalyptic warnings are sometimes used to inflate company valuations, while AI is already causing significant present harms.
Leadership figures within the group have proposed amending the resolution to remove sections referencing automation, loss of control, and catastrophic risk. The TAWG posted on Instagram in September: “AI alarmism and AI hype are the same story.” The resolution also calls for “the democratization and socialization of AI,” language that the amendment would delete.
Procedural dispute inside the chapter
The socialist organization is also mired in procedural infighting. Alexei Gannon and Zachary Jones accused the TAWG of presenting its leaders’ views as the group’s official position, even though the TAWG, they say, has never formally voted on where it stands on AI risk. Gannon and Jones wrote in a Substack post that the TAWG has not held a membership meeting since March.
“To equate worrying about catastrophic risk with buying a Silicon Valley narrative is to lump hundreds of DSA comrades… and 60% of the American public into the same bucket as Sam Altman and Elon Musk,” they wrote.
Gannon and Jones declined additional comment; the New York City DSA chapter and the Tech Action Working Group did not respond to requests for comment.
How the DSA is approaching the technology itself
The local chapter is also wrestling with how to use AI tools. The chapter’s tech working group voted in January to ban the use of generative AI text, images, and video for “any DSA purpose.” Meanwhile, the national DSA’s tech committee this month adopted a policy that “neither endorses nor prohibits” AI coding tools for its own software.
Broader context and the People’s AI Assembly
The debate within the DSA mirrors broader tensions on the American left as Democrats try to define an AI stance ahead of the 2028 presidential election. How the DSA and other left-wing factions address AI risk could influence future regulation if Democrats regain control of Congress and could shape which candidates appeal to AI-skeptic voters.
The article’s author observed how progressives are positioning themselves at the People’s AI Assembly on Monday, organized by the AI Now Institute and More Perfect Union. That event focused on the impacts of data centers, surveillance, and the concentration of power in a few companies. Warnings in the vein of Sen. Sanders about AI threatening humanity were not central, suggesting that the DSA faction focused on mitigating present harms is setting the terms of conversation in New York.
“Even as we reckon with these larger societal questions, there are still rules that we can implement and hold these kinds of companies to account for,” Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor and a DSA member, told the crowd.
Room for disagreement
At the People’s AI Assembly it was clear that large sections of the left remain united on issues such as data centers, corporate concentration, and the need for regulation and oversight. Brian Romero, a DSA member and incoming state assemblymember who has worked with the chapter’s tech working group, described the debate as a complex, fast-moving issue that factions across the political spectrum are grappling with.
“It’s not unlike any other policy issue,” Romero said. “There’s going to be differences of opinion on the left.” As another attendee put it: “It wouldn’t be the DSA if there wasn’t debate.”
Notable notes
Sen. Bernie Sanders has drawn pushback from some on the left for his doomsday-style AI rhetoric, as WIRED reported. “Some of us are looking at Bernie and saying, what happened?” one New York City DSA member said.
The broader DSA currently lacks “a consistent line on what elected socialists should advocate for regarding AI,” wrote Zhao Levi, a DSA member, in Cosmonaut in September; Levi proposed forming a national working group to draft a position for the 2027 national convention.
Key names mentioned: Alexei Gannon, Zachary Jones, Tech Action Working Group, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, Brian Romero, Zhao Levi.
