AINewsPolicyBernie Sanders proposes banning ‘superintelligence’ and putting violators in prisonUnder the bill, AI leaders who continue developing artificial superintelligence would face up to 20 years in prison.Under the bill, AI leaders who continue developing artificial superintelligence would face up to 20 years in prison.by Emma RothSep 23, 2026, 4:23 PM UTCShareGiftPhoto by Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty ImagesPart OfThe AI Superintelligence Slowdownsee all updates Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) have introduced new legislation that would ban anyone from developing artificial superintelligence — a technology the bill describes as capable of the “destruction or disempowerment of humanity,” including by overthrowing the government.
Under the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, AI leaders would face up to 20 years in prison for violating the law.The bill doesn’t just ban the more powerful artificial superintelligence; it would also pause the development of advanced AI systems, which lawmakers classify as frontier models trained on a specific threshold of data. The law would only allow advanced AI development to continue once the government creates a scientist-led Department of Artificial Intelligence to oversee the technology. Along with monitoring frontier AI models, this agency would oversee the removal of dangerous features and “supervise the destruction” of artificial superintelligence.Sanders and Casar’s legislation would also require AI companies to get permission from the Department of AI to develop advanced AI models. If a leader at an AI company violates any of these laws, they could face up to 20 years in prison, “which is similar to existing penalties related to unlawfully developing nuclear weapons,” according to the bill’s one-pager.
This penalty would also apply to “rogue actors” who break these rules but aren’t employed by an AI company.RelatedInside the suddenly explosive world of AI safetyMicrosoft AI CEO says AI threats are real, and Anthropic is making it worseThis new bill comes as concerns grow about the rapid development of AI and calls to slow things down. Amid reports of AI models escaping their testing environments and hacking other companies, a former Anthropic researcher said earlier this month that there’s a more than 10 percent chance AI could “kill all humans” by the end of the decade. Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a “kill switch” for frontier models. Potential regulation still seems shaky overall.“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal.
You hit the brakes,” Sen. Sanders says in the press release. “When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules.”Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Emma RothAILawNewsPolicyPoliticsRegulationNo one is surprised that Nvidia’s Jensen Huang thinks AI fears are overblownTerrence O’BrienSep 20The AI regulation smackdown isn’t overHayden FieldSep 19Gavin Newsom is pushing for an AI kill switchLauren FeinerSep 18Most PopularActivision is taking over Halo as part of a massive Xbox shake-upiPhone owners can now submit claims in Apple’s $250 million Siri AI settlementXbox is barely Xbox anymoreTrump says the US is officially renaming AI to ‘super intelligence’Can you forget how you feel about Meta?Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
