During a congressional hearing on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) raised concerns about the potential rise of a tech-enhanced elite class—warning that unregulated advances in transhumanist technologies could deepen societal inequality.
"Is there the possibility of regulation that exists that would enable transhumanist enhancements that exacerbate financial inequalities, creating an elite class of enhanced individuals?" Luna asked panelists. "This is a real concern."
Luna: Is there the possibility of regulation that enables transhumanist enhancements that exacerbate financial inequalities creating an elite class of individuals? People who can afford implanting chips.. essentially creating the first superhuman. This is a real concern pic.twitter.com/bgekR3yavp
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 5, 2025
Pointing to the growing impact of AI on the labor market and the elimination of low-wage jobs, Luna questioned whether a future could emerge in which only the wealthy could afford brain implants or chip-based enhancements granting access to "unknown amounts of knowledge" —effectively creating what she referred to as "the first superhuman."
"From a bipartisan perspective, we're talking about humanity versus machine," she said. "Hopefully in a flowery world we would have it set up to where it could improve society for the best, but I'm also in politics and have a very unfortunately sometimes negative perspective on the world because I've seen the worst of humanity in this job."
Luna's comments sparked ridicule online, with users mocking a concern they found to be far-fetched, particularly given economic and environmental concerns facing Americans in the present.
did she just look up the craziest conspiracy theory she could think of and then talk about it in a government setting??
— Ryca (@_oRyca_) June 5, 2025
"Imagine if they talked about climate change like this," wrote one X user.
"This question sounds like dialogue from a Sci-Fi, B-movie," said another, with one asking "Does she think Marvel movies are biographical stories?"
"Republicans won't regulate oil, guns, or Wall Street, but they're gearing up for the cyborg uprising," added another user.
While some commenters echoed her concerns, the hearing was largely focused on more immediate concerns surrounding the application of AI language models in the federal government and understanding the current global landscape of AI development.
Originally published on Latin Times
