Sanders, Casar propose federal ban on AI superintelligence

Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar are introducing legislation that would permanently ban artificial superintelligence and establish a new federal agency to regulate advanced AI systems, according to details first reported by the Associated Press.

The bill, unveiled Wednesday, would create a Department of Artificial Intelligence and temporarily halt development of the most advanced AI systems until new federal safety rules are implemented. Advanced AI systems would require federal approval before deployment, with violations carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison in some cases.

Why it matters

The proposal represents the most aggressive AI regulation effort yet from Congress, drawing a clear line on how far the technology should advance even as the U.S. competes with China for AI dominance. While the bill faces long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress, it signals how the progressive wing of the Democratic Party plans to position AI regulation ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign.

Defining the red line

The legislation would permanently prohibit artificial superintelligence, which it defines as any system that exceeds human cognitive ability or possesses sufficient capabilities to plan and execute the destruction or disempowerment of humanity.

"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," Sanders told the AP.

Multiple employees from leading AI companies have endorsed the proposal. Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a researcher in OpenAI's Safety Systems, said in a statement that "superintelligence could either go extremely right or extremely wrong" and that "we shouldn't be playing such games."

Swante Scholz, a software engineer at Google DeepMind speaking in his personal capacity, warned that on the current development path, the "most likely outcome is an existential catastrophe for humanity."

Austin connection and workforce concerns

Casar, who represents Texas' 35th Congressional District and chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has been vocal about AI's impact on workers. In June, he denounced Austin-based Oracle after the company disclosed its global workforce had shrunk by about 21,000 employees over the previous year, with Oracle attributing the reductions directly to artificial intelligence.

"For families in Austin and across the country, 21,000 layoffs is a disaster," Casar said at a news conference outside Oracle's headquarters. The company, which moved its headquarters to Austin in 2020, began another round of layoffs earlier this month as it expands data centers for its AI business.

Political headwinds

The legislation faces significant obstacles. President Donald Trump has resisted calls for greater government oversight of AI, putting him at odds with tech leaders including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and xAI's Elon Musk. Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that artificial intelligence will be renamed "super intelligence."

Sanders dismissed Trump's understanding of the issue, saying the president is "mainly concerned about the economic implications of a slowdown."

The senator argued that avoiding the most dangerous forms of AI would require cooperation between the U.S. and China, comparing the challenge to nuclear arms control during the Cold War. "Ronald Reagan, arch-conservative, was smart enough to understand that he had to sit down with Gorbachev, a communist, and work out a nuclear treaty that protected humanity," Sanders said.

The Associated Press first reported details of the legislation.