Sanders bill seeks permanent US ban on superintelligent AI

U.S. lawmakers have proposed permanently banning artificial superintelligence, pausing advanced AI development, and imposing prison terms of up to 20 years for violations. Summary The proposal would ban AI systems matching or exceeding human ability across many tasks. Advanced AI work would pause until a new federal regulator establishes safety and review rules. Individuals could face 20 years in prison, while companies could receive a “corporate death penalty.” The proposal arrived as OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra and acknowledged growing monitoring problems. Sanders’ office said on Sept. 3 that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, had announced the forthcoming Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would prohibit the development and deployment of AI systems classified as superintelligent. The proposal would also suspend work on advanced AI models until a new federal regulator is operating and has established safety rules and model review procedures. Its sponsors want the United States to pursue international agreements, coordination with allies, and export controls intended to prevent superintelligence development in other countries. The full legislative t...