Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence and Temporarily Pause Advanced AI Development bill. The proposed legislation seeks to establish a new cabinet-level federal agency tasked with enforcing a prohibition on artificial superintelligence to protect the public.
The bill includes a provision for a 20-year prison sentence for developers who continue work on artificial superintelligence projects. This penalty is comparable to the punishment for the illegal development of rogue nuclear weapons.
Beyond domestic enforcement, the proposal calls for the government to pursue international agreements and allied coordination to ban superintelligence on a global scale. The bill is currently described as the most extreme AI-related legislation to date.
The initiative faces potential opposition in Congress from both enterprise-supporting Democrats and Trump-aligned Republicans. However, some industry leaders have expressed support for greater oversight and a potential slowdown in AI development.
