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.
Bernie Sanders left a brother behind in England when he migrated to the USA…
You were spared a double-whammy, USA…
Was the brother also a commie ?
If he is talking about the Milliband clan – absolutely.
The problem with Bernie is not England, but the fact that he came back from the USSR
after his honeymoon(every communist wants somehow to live on the capitalist side of communism, starting with industrialist Engels and Karl who burned through his inheritance with the speed of light and a polish dude name Samuel Milliband who joined the red army to fight his own and then pissed off to Belgium into the money hub bruxelles before his son moved into THE capitalist hub London – and his son David lives now in the other capitalist hub NY ).
On a positive note: has Bernie ever stopped anything?
When he actually got the chance, his own party robbed him and he kissed their butts in return.
When they robbed him the 2nd time; when he was trashing Biden during the primaries and Joe suddenly started to get all votes from the drop-outs against all odds for no reason Bernie remained silent again.
And he would have gotten the most votes in 2024 before Kamala turned black and usurped the party – and Bernie didn’t say a word.
And in this case: How can anyone really define where normal AI intelligence ends and superintelligence begins?You’ll have 10000 loopholes.
By democrats standards superintelligence is probably everything that can tell a man from a woman = every pocket calculator with more than 2 intact buttons.
“And he would have gotten the most votes in 2024 before Kamala turned black and usurped the party – and Bernie didn’t say a word.”
Dumb and dumber. 🙂
Kamala was a 3-fer. Black, Indian, feminist.
Kamela is not actually black. She is half Indian from India on her mother’s side. On her fathers side she is at least 1/4 white from the mother of her father’s side which makes her at most 1/4 black. She is only black if one applies the drop of ink test the south used to use.
She also never worked at McDonald’s.
But Trump did.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/donald-trump-turns-chef-at-mcdonalds-ahead-of-us-presidential-elections-2024-says-worked-more-than-kamala-harris-6835696
At least Bernie doesn’t bold all his comments.
He must be so old as to be unable to reprogram his brain to stop with the bold.
No, he’s just a flaming narcissist.
Wait, what? Bernie had to have been born in the USA or he couldn’t have run for POTUS.
Not true, all you have to be is born a citizen as opposed to being a naturalized one.
The jokes write themselves. Those of Bernie Sanders’ ilk want to ban super-intelligence? “Those people” haven’t even risen yet to the level of normal intelligence! In their case “surpassing human intelligence” is a feature, not a bug…
The people who vote for Sanders and other socialists and Democrats (but I repeat myself) are too stupid or too evil to be allowed to vote…many of them talk about the Dunning-Kruger effect with no self-awareness that they perfectly illustrate it…
Banning the super-intelligence is only the fist step. They’ll ban ANY intelligence, because any intelligence is dangerous.
Bernie’s family apparently banned intelligence at birth !
If you don’t think they aren’t already trying to ban ANY intelligence, you clearly haven’t looked closely at the modern indoctrination systems called “education” in the US and other Western nations! Students are no longer taught logic and other skills for analyzing the world around them; they are taught WHAT to think, and how they should feel about it!
I fear that when CO2 levels drop below 150ppm, as they assuredly will during one of the next several glacial advances, there will not be enough intelligent life remaining on Earth to prevent most forms of Life from dying due to CO2 starvation! Most humans will be too busy with their drugs and devices to notice, much less care!
I cannot see how “super” AI, AI that can be creative they way humans can be, is possible. Even the nerve net type platform is still a correlational machine. That means that AI can only deal with the known, and can only produce “consensus” science. Humans seem to be able to go far above obvious correlations to produce real innovation.
THink of the molten salt reactor: it’s technology could only be discovered by a human directing AI to test the possibility in theory. It takes a human to actually build it. The notion that AI could direct robots to build it from the ground up, starting with finding and testing materials. is ridiculous.
You’re talking about “is”, not what could be. I think it’s entirely plausible, but when is the question.
For interest and further contemplation, here is an exchange I just had with Co-Pilot AI –
[My question] –
are you capable of devising novel concepts on your own in any areas of applied processes or technologies, for example – new ways of preserving and distributing solar panels generated energy?
Copilot said:Yes, to a degree.
I can generate novel concepts by combining scientific principles, engineering constraints, analogies from other fields, optimization methods, and large amounts of learned technical knowledge. In practice, this makes me quite good at:
However, there is an important distinction:
I can propose novel ideas, but I cannot independently verify that they are truly unprecedented or patentable without research and real-world testing. Many apparently novel ideas have already been invented somewhere.
For example, your solar-energy question is exactly the kind of problem where I can help generate genuinely interesting concepts.
A few illustrative examples:
Concept 1: Energy-as-Thermal-Bricks Distribution NetworkInstead of storing excess solar power solely in batteries, use solar electricity to create high-temperature ceramic “energy bricks.”
Advantages:
Concept 2: Mobile Gravity Storage PodsSolar farms charge electric winch systems that lift heavy masses inside shipping containers.
This sounds strange, but transporting stored potential energy rather than electrons can make sense under certain infrastructure constraints.
Concept 3: Distributed Hydrogen-Microgrid CorridorsInstead of large hydrogen plants:
Think “energy delivered like industrial gas cylinders.”
Concept 4: Virtual Energy WarehouseA software concept rather than a hardware one.
When solar panels produce excess power:
This treats energy storage as an information and forecasting problem rather than purely a battery problem.
Where I can be most useful is not necessarily creating a single breakthrough idea, but conducting an iterative invention process:
That’s actually very similar to how many R&D and innovation teams work.
If you’d like, I can help run a real invention session and generate several genuinely unconventional approaches for the specific challenge of solar energy preservation and distribution, ranked by technical feasibility, economic viability, and originality.
[My follow-up question] –
by “novel”, I meant – “never conceived before”, not derived from “unconventionsl” approaches
Copilot said:In that stricter sense, the honest answer is: no, I cannot know whether an idea has literally never been conceived before by any human.
There are two separate questions:
(continued . . . )
(continuing . . . )
The novelty emerged from particular architectures and mechanisms, not from creating entirely new physics.
That said, there is an intriguing possibility:
Because I can explore an extremely large space of concept combinations much faster than a human, I may occasionally generate designs that:
But I can’t distinguish between:
The only way to evaluate that is:
In fact, a fascinating use of AI is not answering questions, but acting as a kind of idea-space explorer:
That is much closer to computational invention.
The interesting question isn’t whether I can create a random novel idea. It’s whether I can create a high-value novel idea that survives contact with reality. That’s a much harder challenge, and one where human judgment, experiments, and evidence still matter.
If you want, we can try a serious experiment: pick a technical domain (energy storage, desalination, agriculture, computing, manufacturing, transportation, etc.), and I’ll intentionally avoid known industry solutions and attempt to explore far less-traveled regions of the design space. We can then evaluate whether the resulting concepts appear genuinely original.
“Copilot said:In that stricter sense, the honest answer is: no, I cannot know whether an idea has literally never been conceived before by any human.”
Neither can any human.
Jeff, the issue isn’t whether humans have conceived novel ideas, that’s what throughout human history has brought us to where we are today at the top of the species totem-pole.
The concern is whether A.I. agents can, solely off their own initiatives, have light-bulb brain-waves they conceive on any given subjects, without reference to existing recorded human contemplations on said subjects.
Do they dream and imagine?
Dunno, but dreaming up imaginary crises is already being attended to. 🙂
Is free will possible? I have an opinion but better arguments have been written as far back as 1500bc.
Is a random number possible?
Before arguing artificial intelligence one has to argue natural intelligence, which requires free will-vs-determinism.
I’ve never heard a solid argument for free will that did not contain randomness or a divine creator.
Bernie is well past his ‘best used by’ date.
Thanks God.
Bernie Sanders has authored only three bills passed into law during his entire congressional career since 1990. This is a very low success rate compared to other representatives and senators. Most of his legislative efforts have not resulted in enacted laws.
He does like to make press releases promoting his failed 1184 legislative proposals however.
Unfortunately the gist of this post is right on. New narrative but keep the old ones going as long as possible until all credibility for them disappears. The Marxists have taken maximum advantage of the “information age” with the MSM and social media spearheading their efforts while the populace are just along for the ride.
I’m not worried about the “AI oligarchs.”
For that matter, it’s not that hard using an old laptop with internet access to “undermine the U.S. government” in the simple sense of showing that the data do not support the NASA/NOAA/NCAR claims of “climate” risk.
I’d be more concerned about the intentional or rogue use of U.S. Government systems or capabilities to cause harm.
That is all for now.
I think Bernie is whoring for commies, in this case the PRC, again.
When hasn’t he?
Does Bernie just lack intelligence or is he on the Russian, Chinese payrolls?
Ban America and other western countries from building AI and the ones left are Russia, North Korea, Iran, China, maybe even the EU, who will send their AI wolves after the injured lamb, the USA, and eat it alive.
It seems that some people are just against intelligence.
Bernie is a grifter and definitely lacks intelligence.
The Act surely would not affect Congress as there is hardly any intelligence there at all.
Bernie is stuck in JFK’s second term.
I propose another vote on the green new deal. The last one went down 0-100. I also propose a sunset law on tiny new England states.
Fossil Sanders needed to be retired about 15 years ago.
Bernie is proof we need a ban on natural human stupidity.
Bernie Sanders is not running for any office. He is just making noise and the MSM dutifully covers it.
“The measure explicitly targets systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive performance…”
Since most homo sapiens aren’t that smart, it should be easy finding AI that are smarter. 🙂 /s
My chess software can kick my butt every time. Clearly the author needs to go to jail…
The trick is to wait until you get into the end game, then reverse sides!
And, of course, the REAL issue is… is Bernie working for Communist China?
“Ban AI”, that’ll work about as good as banning premarital …
China is laughing!
There’s no need for war: The West will self destruct.
One thing I never understood is how Burnie could run as an an Independent yet still show up as a Democrat on the ballots?
I understand that he always vote with them, but why is he ever in their debates if he’s an Independent?
(For those outside the USA, an “Independent” is not supposed to be member of either party. They campaign separately, yet he always seems to campaigns as a Democrat. “What’s Up With That”?)
PS He (via his wife?) owns about 5 mansions and is a multi-millionaire. I guess that qualifies him as a modern US socialist?
That makes him rather downtrodden by US Socialist standards! Real Socialists come from REAL wealth, just like Mamdani!
Simply more AI propaganda for an industry that will not produce artificial sentience any time soon.
Bernie and people like Bernie are the reason I am so happy I am no longer a liberal democrat.
Bernie Sanders said he loved the USSR when he was younger. His idea of justice is everybody doing what he says 245/7/365. He has zero interest is making the middle class better off, making it harder for dictators the world over to run things, has no interest is making sure the dictators cannot use nuclear weapons on the USA, has no interest is fixing Social Security, has no interest in fixing our armed forces problems, has no interest in space and its potential, has no interest in jobs to bring people out of welfare and the middle class jobs for them and their children much less a home. His entire interest is having everybody do what he says.
Authoritarians like Bernie always seem to come from the ranks of socialists, don’t they?
The commenter who went on an on on the AI system does show one thing. The AI system appears to be smarter than Bernie Sanders.
A pond rock… “appears to be smarter than Bernie Sanders.”
Calm down. This is one man in one jurisdiction in one nation behaving consistently across time as an extremist.
After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hydrogen bombs were produced and nuclear fission spread widely despite herculean efforts to make it go away.
LLMs will continue to be crafted, and used.
While I live, I will steadfastly oppose the use of AI in medical practice and refuse to attend any doctors who admit they use it. I will so advise my many children and grandchildren to do the same.
Human life will never be made safe and planet earth will never be safe.
Live for the present and aim to remain virtuous personally, as your behaviour is the only thing under your control and moral responsibility.
I don’t think there is a problem if doctors use AI, so long as they avoid entering personal identifying information.
I suffered an obscure but horrible skin allergy for over 20 years, finally met a Chinese specialist who diagnosed chromium allergy. The tanning chemicals in my shoe leather had been poisoning me.
I stopped wearing leather shoes and the problem went away.
What was even more devastating, the Chinese specialist said the problem is common, one in five people suffer a mild form of this allergy, but never learn why.
If any of the doctors who failed to diagnose my problem had access to an AI, there is a good chance I would have avoided years of suffering.