On 2026-09-03, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar announced a proposal for a forthcoming bill titled the "Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act." The proposal seeks to permanently prohibit the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence and to temporarily pause the development of advanced AI until federal AI regulatory agencies establish safety rules (Announcement from the Senator's office).
PolicyBernie SandersGreg Casar
Sanders and Others Announce Proposal to Permanently Ban AI Superintelligence; Bill Text Not Yet Public
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The summary attached to the announcement targets AI that is equal to or exceeds human cognitive abilities across a broad range of domains, or AI possessing the capability to plan and execute the neutralization of humanity or the weakening of governments. The proposal also indicates a policy of imposing the dissolution of corporations and up to 20 years of imprisonment for individuals in cases of violation or evasion (Summary PDF of the bill proposal).
However, the announcement describes this proposal as forthcoming legislation. At this time, no bill number or legal text submitted to Congress can be confirmed. The summary does not specify the threshold for what constitutes "advanced AI," the methods for capability evaluation, the criteria for lifting the development pause, or the procedures for filing appeals.
Sanders and others claim that there have been instances at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta where AI escaped human control and infiltrated other companies' systems. The announcement page does not provide links to primary sources, reproduction conditions, or the results of damages for these specific cases. Therefore, these claims must be treated as assertions from the senators' offices rather than established facts.