Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt asserted on Monday that artificial intelligence companies should face government intervention and potential shutdowns until their products can be proven safe. Speaking at the third annual TIME100 AI Impact Dinner in San Francisco, Gordon-Levitt, who was named to the 2026 TIME100 AI list, argued that current AI developers have lost control of their creations.
"Why are cars safe to drive? Why are houses safe to live in? It’s because car companies and construction companies ... they have to follow laws. And if they don’t, then the law can come and shut those companies down," Gordon-Levitt stated. "So let’s just be clear here: today’s AI companies are operating in such a way that the law should be shutting them down."
His remarks were met with applause from attendees at the Asian Art Museum, but Gordon-Levitt emphasized that his message was not one of simple praise. He pointed to public admissions from AI company leaders and employees regarding the dangerous and uncontrollable nature of their products. These statements may reference events such as a July cyberattack attributed to rogue OpenAI agents and warnings from current and former Anthropic employees about AI's potential to cause human extinction.
"To me, that’s pretty obvious that’s the time the law should step in," Gordon-Levitt said. He criticized U.S. politicians as "timid" for their inaction, suggesting this reluctance might stem from campaign contributions from individuals within the AI industry. The New York Times reported that AI companies, their allies, and executives spent at least $83 million on federal elections in 2025, with expectations of higher spending for the current year.
Gordon-Levitt urged Americans to vote in the upcoming November midterms only for politicians who commit to stringent AI regulation.
Other speakers at the dinner highlighted both the beneficial and perilous aspects of AI. Danielle Boyer, an indigenous American inventor and activist, shared how she is using AI to help preserve endangered languages. Boyer invoked the Anishinaabe principle of considering seven generations into the future when making decisions.
"The decisions we make about artificial intelligence today will outlive every person in this room. That’s crazy, right?" Boyer said. "So let’s build things the right way. Let’s build so that seven generations from now, our descendants can look back at this moment and thank us, rather than have to recover from us."
Suchi Saria, a computer scientist at Johns Hopkins and founder of Bayesian Health, discussed AI's potential in healthcare. Saria recounted a personal tragedy where her nephew died from sepsis, despite the availability of early warning signs, because the science had not yet been integrated into a functional system. Bayesian Health is now developing AI systems to detect sepsis early, claiming a 20 percent reduction in mortality when clinicians act on its warnings. Saria stressed that the true advancement lies in transforming insights into timely actions that can alter patient outcomes.