Will AI Populism Decide the 2028 Election? | Jasmine Sun
episodePreviously titled “AI Populism: Warning Shots Before 2028 | Jasmine Sun” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
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What is AI populism and why does it matter?
Bankless Nation, we are here with Jasmine Sun. She writes about AI, technology and politics.
How could AI impact the 2028 election?
She is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and recently has a New York Times opinion piece on AI and the permanent underclass, a phrase we are all too familiar with here in the world of crypto. She's also the AI of the AI populism series on her sub-sack, jasmine.news. Jasmine, welcome to Bankless.
Thanks so much for having me.
Jasmine, you put together a definition for AI populism. You wrote it, a worldview in which AI is viewed not only as a normal technology, but as an elite political project to be resisted. This is really what we want to explore here with you today on the show. Kind of want to ask the question, and maybe we can start with this. How big is AI populism as a political issue domestically here in the United States?
What role do data centers play in the AI backlash?
And we kind of want to get to, do we think AI populism will be a relevant issue in the 2028 election? So maybe we can start with that first question. Just how big do you think AI populism is in the world of politics?
Yeah, thanks for asking. Yeah, I've been thinking about AI populism a lot over the last few months. I think noticing this mass movement that is sort of growing around the AI backlash and in particular, noticing how very different interest groups and very different factions, different sides of the aisle are coming together to protest AI. And so, you know, when I'm in Washington, D.C., I'll notice that there are family first conservatives sitting with antitrust people, sitting with environmentalists, people who would never be working side by side, but who have united in order to push for AI regulation. And that was sort of what really got me thinking about AI populism. In terms of how big of a force it is in the US right now, I would say that it's not a primary force in American politics yet, but it is rising extremely quickly.
And so one of the best research polling that's been done on this topic is from David Schwartz Blue Rose Research. And what he's shown in his polling is that among like, you know, a list of 40 different issues that American voters might care about, AI ranks 29 out of 39. So it's not super high, but it has risen in salience the faster than any other issue over the last year.
What is the Jobpacalypse debate about?
And so in terms of how quickly it is entering the broader political conversation, I think AI is rising really fast. And the other thing that I'm starting to notice is that AI is not just a separate issue. Like most people who are, you know, thinking about AI, they may not have particular opinions on, you know, which model is the best or should we do chip export controls? They're really seeing AI as part of these broader conversations around affordability, economic mobility, geopolitics. And those are issues that do rank very high on Americans' list of concerns. And so if AI is seen as, you know, a bogeyman or very tied to conversations around land use and their neighborhoods, around economic mobility and whether you're going to have a job, then AI will be a much bigger part of the political conversation than we would otherwise expect.
So it's rising fast, but it's still 29th in the list of issues. So there are other, you know, the top five issues got to be like the economy, jobs, inflation, that type of thing. And yet we see some of the most savvy politicians that we have in the U.S. that seem to be doubling down on AI populist messaging, maybe tripling down even. Bernie Sanders, it seems like, has made it sort of a cornerstone piece for him. In other words, he's kind of like betting heavily on the topic of AI populism and putting a lot of his chips in. Why? Like, is he, if it's only 29th, wouldn't people rather hear about inflation and jobs and other things that are core to the Sanders message? Why is he betting so hard?
Right? I think like I think it's because they're tied together.
Is there a future for labor in the AI era?
I mean, I have the Blue Rose Research pulled up next to me. Number the top five issues, like you say, it's cost of living, the economy, corruption, inflation and health care.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is AI populism and why does it matter?
0:02–0:07
2
How could AI impact the 2028 election?
0:07–0:51
3
What role do data centers play in the AI backlash?
0:51–2:08
4
What is the Jobpacalypse debate about?
2:08–3:36
5
Is there a future for labor in the AI era?
3:36–4:05
6
How is power inequality shaping AI policy?
4:05–5:37
7
What strategies can help people stay relevant in an AI-driven world?
5:37–6:50
8
What are the implications of wealth inequality in the context of AI?
6:50–1:20:22
Speakers
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