Sanders Introduces Bill to Ban Superintelligence and Create Federal AI Agency

Washington — Senators Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar announced new legislation on Wednesday aimed at banning the creation of artificial superintelligence and establishing a federal Department of Artificial Intelligence. The proposal comes as concerns mount among AI industry leaders regarding the rapid advancement of the technology and the need for congressional guardrails.

According to a copy of the bill provided to The Associated Press, the legislation would impose a temporary pause on the development of advanced AI systems until comprehensive safety guidelines are enacted by the new department. Once established, these advanced systems would require federal approval prior to deployment. The measure also defines artificial superintelligence as any system capable of exceeding human cognitive abilities or possessing the capacity to plan and execute actions that could destroy or disempower humanity. Violations of the proposed regulations could result in severe penalties, including prison sentences of up to 20 years in certain cases.

Sanders, an independent from Vermont, emphasized the urgency of the matter in an interview with the AP. “It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘slow it down,’” he said. “Do we really want to develop a super intelligence that when it becomes smarter than human beings could act independently of human control? I don’t think we do.”

The bill has garnered support from current employees at major tech firms. Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a researcher in OpenAI’s Safety Systems, stated that superintelligence could lead to extreme outcomes, either positive or catastrophic, and argued against risking such scenarios. Swante Scholz, a software engineer at Google DeepMind, warned that the current developmental trajectory poses an existential threat to humanity, calling a ban on superintelligence development a necessary step.

Despite the backing from some industry insiders, the legislation faces significant hurdles in the Republican-controlled Congress, where lawmakers have struggled to agree on even modest AI regulations. The proposal highlights the progressive wing of the Democratic Party’s approach to technology policy ahead of the November midterms and the 2028 presidential election, where AI is expected to be a major talking point.

Other Democratic figures are also making moves on the issue. Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently outlined a plan for AI regulation, while California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to accelerate the implementation of state oversight laws for AI companies.

President Donald Trump has resisted calls for increased government oversight, creating friction with prominent tech executives such as Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Elon Musk of xAI. On Tuesday, Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that the term “artificial intelligence” should be replaced with “super intelligence.” Sanders criticized the president’s stance, stating that Trump appears more focused on economic implications than the underlying safety risks.

The debate over AI is reshaping political alignments, with growing public concern over the environmental impacts of AI data centers. A recent poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found that 53% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about these environmental effects, a rise from 41% the previous year.

As the U.S. competes with China for dominance in the AI sector, safety concerns are also set to feature in talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Addressing fears that slowing U.S. development could cede ground to China, Sanders argued for international cooperation, drawing a parallel to Cold War nuclear arms control. “Ronald Reagan… was smart enough to understand that he had to sit down with Gorbachev… and work out a nuclear treaty that protected humanity,” Sanders said. “I think we can do that again now.”