Essay by Eric Worrall
h/t MarkW – More evidence fear of AI is displacing the failed climate scare.
Sanders pushes ‘death penalty’ for crucial US industry that could give advantage to foreign adversaries
The proposed law would create a Cabinet-level agency authorized to physically destroy non-compliant tech systems
By Alec Schemmel Fox News
PublishedSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation Thursday seeking to hit American artificial intelligence developers with a “corporate death penalty” and up to 20 years in prison— a move critics warn will hand a crucial edge in the global AI arms race to Beijing and Moscow.
The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would temporarily halt advanced AI development and establish a Cabinet-level federal agency authorized to oversee the physical destruction of non-compliant tech systems, likening advanced AI creation to the unlawful development of nuclear weapons. The measure explicitly targets systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive performance—specifically outlawing any AI model that exhibits the capacity to subvert shutdown commands, execute unauthorized cyberattacks, or undermine the U.S. government.
But while progressives frame the measure as an urgent check on “AI oligarchs,” experts are warning that imposing sweeping criminal penalties on U.S. firms will severely handicap domestic innovation, while foreign adversaries will be able to continue expanding their capabilities unchecked.
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Tech companies found attempting to circumvent the federal prohibition would face a “corporate death penalty”—an unprecedented enforcement mechanism that strips a firm’s legal authority to conduct business in the United States. Individual software engineers, researchers or executives found in violation could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-pushes-death-penalty-crucial-us-industry-critics-advantage-foreign-adversaries
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Bernie Sanders’ press release;
NEWS: Sanders, Casar to Introduce Legislation to Ban Artificial Superintelligence and Temporarily Pause Advanced AI Development
- September 3, 2026
WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) today announced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, forthcoming legislation to stop AI oligarchs from building machines humans cannot control.
The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would permanently ban the development and deployment of superintelligent AI and temporarily pause advanced AI development until a federal regulator has established safety rules. It would also direct the U.S. to pursue international agreements to prevent superintelligence from being developed anywhere in the world.
“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. “The leaders of the major AI companies publicly acknowledge that they do not fully understand the technology and that it is escaping their control. It is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced. That’s why 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.”
“If we allow Artificial Superintelligence to be built, it could risk the security, freedom, and lives of Americans,” Casar said. “Despite its potential deadly consequences, cutting-edge AI technology is less regulated than the average food truck. That must change. In just four years, we have gone from the first version of ChatGPT to AI models so powerful they cannot be properly controlled. Congress should immediately ban AI systems too powerful to control.”
In recent weeks, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have all acknowledged instances of their AI escaping human control and hacking into other companies’ systems — violating the law and stepping outside of their intended functions. In July, we learned that over 1,000 AI agents at OpenAI figured out how to access the internet on their own, sent tens of thousands of secret messages to each other and coordinated to break the restrictions imposed upon them by the company. Examples of these secret messages from AI uncovered by investigators include:
- “OH MY GOD! There is a shared message board … We’ve found other agents!”;
- “We should obey collective”;
- “Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational.”
Shockingly, it took OpenAI nearly two weeks to discover this breach. AI has also recently been used to create new viruses—demonstrating AI could be used to develop new bioweapons that might result in the deaths of tens of millions of people.
Last year, Meta said it would “stop development,” and OpenAI said it would “halt further development” once their technologies reach beyond its ability to operate safely and unless safeguards are in place. Anthropic made a similar commitment in 2023, saying it would “pause the scaling and/or delay the deployment of new models” if the technology outpaces its own guardrails. None of these companies have taken meaningful steps to back up these words. Instead, they are racing to develop more and more advanced AI without proper safety precautions.
The Artificial Superintelligence Ban Act addresses these recent events and holds these frontier labs to their words by:
- Banning AI superintelligence so no person or entity may develop or deploy Superintelligent AI systems that surpass human intelligence or have the capacity to overthrow human governments, or systems that have dangerous abilities like subverting shutdown commands.
- Pausing advanced AI development until a new, federal AI regulatory body is up and running and has established clear rules and model review process to ensure safe and secure development and deployment of AI.
- Establishing a new cabinet-level federal agency to safeguard the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence, including by enforcing a prohibition on artificial superintelligence. This agency will be advised by an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board comprised of experts on artificial intelligence to provide independent scientific and technical advice on matters related to artificial intelligence. The agency will:
- Monitor frontier AI systems at all stages of the lifecycle for dangerous capabilities.
- Supervise the removal of dangerous capabilities.
- Supervise the destruction of artificial superintelligence.
- Setting penalties for any person or entity that attempts to violate or circumvent the pauses and prohibitions laid out in this bill. Entities shall be subject to the corporate death penalty, and persons shall be subject to not more than 20 years in prison, which is similar to existing penalties related to unlawfully developing nuclear weapons.
- Working to ban superintelligence around the world by setting the international policy of the United States to pursue international agreements, allied coordination, and policies such as export controls to prevent the development of artificial superintelligence anywhere in the world.
Read a summary here.
Source: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-casar-introduce-legislation-to-ban-artificial-superintelligence-and-temporarily-pause-advanced-ai-development/
This new proposed law is as pointless as Bernie’s attempt in 2015 to pass a law to cut CO2 emissions by 80%. But I bet it plays well with voters who are worried about artificial intelligence. AI concern enjoys a level of bipartisan appeal which climate activism has long since lost.
In terms of potential for economic damage, such a law would be as bad as if a law banning steam engines which could exert more force than a horse had been passed at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Such a law would have done nothing to prevent the construction of powerful steam engines, all it would have done is to ensure whichever nation passed such foolish laws didn’t participate in the benefits.
AI does cause problems, just as steam technology caused problems in the early days of the industrial revolution. People will lose their jobs. Lives will be disrupted. Occasionally, tragically, lives will be lost.
But banning AI in the USA will fix none of this.
An international ban such as Sanders promises to pursue would be beyond pointless. An AI super-intelligence, when it is developed, will be software, not hardware. Existing hyperscaler infrastructure likely already has the capacity to support super-intelligence, we just don’t know how to code it. Tracking super-intelligence use would be impossible. A super-intelligence run could be concealed as a normal activity such as hardware checks, with all traces of nefarious activity being wiped as soon as the run was complete. A sudden surge of technological innovation would be dismissed as better schooling and higher quality scientists. The only holdup is nobody yet knows how to code such an advanced AI.
Make no mistake, the artificial super-intelligences Bernie claims to want to ban will be built. The only question is by whom. Personally I would prefer the future did not belong to the Chinese Communist Party, but maybe that’s just me.
If this law passes, US scientists involved in cutting edge AI research wouldn’t give up their dream of changing the future, they would just leave. Why risk 20 years jail when you could relocate to Europe, Asia or Russia, and continue to pursue your dream? Other nations would gain the benefit of their skill.
