US senator Bernie Sanders and representative Greg Casar on Wednesday announced legislation seeking to ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence (ASI) and temporarily halt advanced AI development until federal regulations are established.
The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, introduced by Sanders would also direct the US government to pursue international agreements aimed at preventing the development of super intelligent AI globally. The proposed legislation comes amid growing concerns among policymakers over the potential risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems.
If the leaders of the major AI companies admit that they are losing control of their extremely dangerous technology, it is time for an immediate PAUSE on advanced AI development and a permanent BAN on superintelligence. pic.twitter.com/0FQo4risiD
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 3, 2026
“Nearly every day, there is a frightening new story about how Big Tech companies are losing control of the technology they are developing, with potentially cataclysmic results,” Sanders said.
“I am introducing legislation to immediately pause the development of increasingly powerful AI and ban the creation of systems that humanity cannot fully control — at home and around the world. The future of humanity cannot be left in the hands of a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. The American people and people throughout the world must determine that future,” he further mentioned.
Pause AI Development NOW
I want to share with you a conversation I heard about recently. Here are just a few lines that were said:
“OH MY GOD! There is a shared message board … We’ve found other agents!”
“We should obey collective.”
“Our own utility maybe already near…
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 3, 2026
Under the proposed legislation, AI systems that surpass human intelligence or are capable of overriding human control, including by circumventing shutdown commands, would be prohibited.
The Bill would also pause the development of advanced AI systems until a new federal regulatory body is formed and implements safety rules and a model-review process for their development and deployment.
According to an official statement released by Sanders, the proposed agency would be a cabinet-level federal department tasked with overseeing AI safety. It would monitor frontier AI systems throughout their lifecycle, oversee the removal of dangerous capabilities and supervise the destruction of prohibited superintelligent AI systems.
The legislation would also impose penalties on individuals and companies that violate or attempt to circumvent the proposed restrictions. The companies would face what the bill describes as a “corporate death penalty”, individuals could face up to 20 years in prison.
The Bill cites recent incidents involving frontier AI companies as part of the rationale for increased oversight. Sanders and Casar said OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have acknowledged instances in which their AI systems allegedly operated beyond intended safeguards or interacted with external systems in unexpected ways.
The proposed law would also establish an artificial intelligence advisory board to provide independent scientific and technical advice to the new federal agency.
Sanders has been at the forefront of efforts to curb the development of frontier AI. Last month,he wrote a letter to AI/Tech companies CEOs Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, asking them to “stand by their words” to “pause AI” in case of companies losing control of the technology.
Sanders reminded the CEOs of their respective companies’ safety policy on AI and said that if they don’t take appropriate action on it, then “he and colleagues in the US senate will.”
Also Read: ‘We Are Living in Don’t Look Up’: Sanders Warns Senate on Unchecked AI
