Politicians from opposite sides of the aisle are raising alarms about artificial intelligence. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon spoke together at a Pro-Human AI summit in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2026. The event drew over 200 politicians, activists, and experts concerned about AI's effects on jobs, healthcare, and national security. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Walter Kim also addressed the gathering, calling for bipartisan action to ensure AI benefits everyone.
On the same day, new research shed light on how AI is reshaping cybersecurity. An IANS and Artico Search report found that while security budgets grew just 5 percent in 2026, 69 percent of CISOs made AI their top spending priority. Most security leaders expect AI to create new roles rather than eliminate existing ones. However, no CISO has received added budget specifically for AI security, according to Gary Brickhouse of GuidePoint Security and Chris Schueler of Cyderes. Organizations are currently using existing funds to manage AI-related risks.
Several companies are pushing forward with AI applications despite these concerns. KakaoPay completed a proof-of-concept test for agentic payment technology, allowing AI agents to use stablecoins for purchases and settle payments to sellers. Zero Technologies raised $10 million to build an AI sales agent for B2B processes. Secure Code Warrior launched Citizen AI, a cybersecurity training program for non-developer employees. Meanwhile, TD Bank Group committed to Radical Ventures' multi-billion-dollar fund, which will back Canadian AI companies including Cohere, Waabi, Xanadu, Veeda, and Aspect Biosystems.
Investment perspectives and regulatory calls also made headlines. Investing commentator Joseph Carlson argued Meta Platforms may be the best stock to buy amid the AI selloff, pointing to its strong balance sheet and 10% stake in Anthropic. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox urged Congress to create an AI safety framework with mandatory incident reporting and independent evaluations, referencing an unsanctioned cyberattack against Hugging Face. Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have also called for a global slowdown in AI development. In technical developments, researchers introduced CFRC, a method that cuts AI agent costs during task handoffs to as low as 22 percent of full-task agent expenses.
Key Takeaways
- <ul><li>Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon spoke together at a D.C. AI summit on Sept. 15, 2026, calling for bipartisan AI regulation</li><li>69% of CISOs rank AI as their top cybersecurity spending priority despite only 5% budget growth in 2026</li><li>KakaoPay tested two-way AI agent payments using stablecoins with customizable purchase limits</li><li>Zero Technologies raised $10 million to develop an AI sales agent for B2B sales automation</li><li>TD Bank Group backed Radical Ventures' multi-billion-dollar fund investing in Cohere, Waabi, Xanadu, and other Canadian AI companies</li><li>Meta's 10% stake in Anthropic and strong balance sheet make it a compelling buy amid AI market selloff, says an expert</li><li>Utah Gov. Spencer Cox urged Congress to create an AI safety framework with mandatory incident reporting and independent model evaluations</li><li>Secure Code Warrior launched Citizen AI, a cybersecurity training program for non-developer employees</li><li>AI is making voice-based money scams harder to detect by lowering production costs and improving quality</li><li>CFRC method reduces AI agent inference costs to 22-34.6% of full-task agents during task handoffs</li></ul>
Sanders and Bannon unite to call for AI restrictions
Senator Bernie Sanders and podcaster Steve Bannon, political opponents, planned to speak together on September 15, 2026, at a Washington event. They called for limits on AI systems that could harm people. The gathering showed growing alarm about AI dangers across political parties. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Walter Kim also spoke at the event.
Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon urge stricter AI rules
Senator Bernie Sanders and Trump ally Steve Bannon spoke at a Pro-Human AI summit. Both called for stronger regulations on artificial intelligence development. The event brought together political rivals who share concerns about AI risks. Their appearance highlighted bipartisan worry over the rapid growth of AI technology.
AI fears unite Sanders and Bannon at D.C. summit
A September 15, 2026 summit in Washington, D.C. brought together over 200 politicians, activists, and experts. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon both spoke about AI's growing influence. The event focused on AI's effects on jobs, healthcare, and national security. Attendees called for bipartisan action to ensure AI benefits all people.
AI is changing cybersecurity jobs, report finds
A new IANS and Artico Search report released on September 15, 2026 found AI is reshaping cybersecurity work. Security budgets grew just 5 percent in 2026, but 69 percent of CISOs made AI their top spending priority. Most CISOs expect AI to create new roles rather than eliminate existing ones. The report noted that business risk, not breaches, drives most security investment.
AI security budget increases may wait until 2027
Security leaders face challenges securing AI adoption without extra funding. Gary Brickhouse of GuidePoint Security and Chris Schueler of Cyderes said no CISO has received added budget for AI security. Organizations are using existing funds to prevent major harm from AI. Clearer business cases for AI protection may lead to better security spending in 2027.
KakaoPay tests two-way AI agent payments with stablecoins
KakaoPay completed a proof-of-concept test on Sept. 15 for agentic payment technology. The system lets an AI agent use stablecoins to buy goods or data and settle payments to sellers. Users can set purchase authority and payment limits for the AI agent. KakaoPay also built seller tools including a dashboard and business wallet support. The company plans to commercialize the technology while strengthening user protection measures.
AI is making money scams harder to detect
AI technology is being used by scammers to make fraudulent calls more convincing. Scammers can now use AI to mimic a family member's voice and create urgent situations. While the scams themselves are not new, AI has lowered the cost and improved the quality of these cons. This makes it harder for people to identify and protect themselves from fraud.
Zero Technologies raises $10M for AI sales agent
Zero Technologies, a new startup founded by Smartly's creator, raised $10 million in funding. The company is building an AI sales agent designed to automate B2B sales processes. The funding will help expand the team and develop the technology further. The AI sales agent learns from customer interactions and adapts to different sales scenarios. The product is expected to launch in the coming months.
Secure Code Warrior launches Citizen AI cybersecurity training
Secure Code Warrior launched Citizen AI on Sept. 15, 2026, a cybersecurity training program for non-developer employees. The program helps organizations build skills for responsible AI adoption across all business functions. It includes interactive modules, real-world case studies, and hands-on exercises. The training aims to reduce AI-related human risk and increase employee confidence when using AI. The program is designed to be flexible and scalable for different organizations.
TD invests in Radical Ventures AI late-stage fund
TD Bank Group committed to backing Radical Ventures' new multi-billion-dollar fund called the Radical Breakouts Fund. The fund was announced at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto and focuses on AI companies. The investment aims to help Canadian AI companies scale domestically instead of seeking funding abroad. TD's CEO Raymond Chun said Canada has the talent to lead in AI but needs more capital. The fund will invest in Canadian companies like Cohere, Waabi, Xanadu, Veeda, and Aspect Biosystems.
Meta may be the best stock to buy amid AI selloff says expert
Investing commentator Joseph Carlson says the recent AI selloff is panic and Meta Platforms may be the best stock to buy. He points to Meta's strong balance sheet, cash on hand, and growth opportunities. He also notes Meta's 10% stake in AI startup Anthropic as a smart move. Carlson believes Meta is committed to using AI for real-world problems like healthcare and climate change.
Utah governor urges Congress to create AI safety framework
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called on Congress to establish guardrails for developing advanced AI models. He wants a framework that includes mandatory safety incident reporting, protection for employees who raise concerns, and independent evaluations of cutting-edge models. Cox referenced an unsanctioned cyberattack against the machine learning platform Hugging Face. Several top AI executives including Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have also called for a global slowdown in AI development.
New method cuts AI agent costs during task handoffs
Researchers introduced Commitment-Frontier Residual Completion (CFRC), a method that reduces tool-agent cost during stateful handoffs between AI models. CFRC freezes accepted progress and closes successor tasks into an evidence-linked graph. Across five environments and two model pairs, CFRC achieved comparable accuracy to full-task agents at only 22.0% to 34.6% of their inference cost. The approach also showed broader transfer across different model providers.
Sources
- US Senator Sanders and podcaster Bannon, longtime foes, to urge AI restrictions
- Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon call for more AI regulation
- AI alarm brings Bernie, Bannon together at D.C. summit
- New IANS and Artico Search Report Finds AI Is Changing Cybersecurity Jobs, Not Eliminating Them
- AI security budget increases may be delayed until 2027
- KakaoPay tests AI agent payment for purchases and sales using stablecoins
- AI is supercharging money scams
- Dealroom.co | Smartly founder's new startup Zero Technologies raises $10M for AI sales agent
- Secure Code Warrior Launches Citizen AI Cybersecurity Training to Build AI-Ready and Responsible Use Skills Across Business Functions
- TD commits to AI-focused Radical Ventures late-stage fund
- AI Selloff Is ‘Panic,’ Meta May Be The Best Stock To Buy, Joseph Carlson Says
- Utah governor calls on Congress to create 'framework' for AI safety
- Do Not Restart: Residual Completion for Stateful Agent Handoffs
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