Brief

Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar unveil bill to ban artificial superintelligence

The proposal would create a Department of Artificial Intelligence and impose penalties for violations.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 29 Sep 2026 21:42:37 GMT

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I‑VT) and Rep. Greg Casar announced legislation on Wednesday that would ban artificial superintelligence and temporarily halt development of the most advanced AI systems until federal safety rules are established, Fortune reported.

The bill, first provided to the Associated Press, defines artificial superintelligence as a system that exceeds human cognitive ability and could plan or execute actions that threaten humanity. It calls for the creation of a new Department of Artificial Intelligence to set guidelines and approve any future AI deployments. Violations could carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

Support for the measure includes statements from AI industry employees such as OpenAI safety researcher Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, who warned that superintelligence could go "extremely right or extremely wrong," and Google DeepMind engineer Swante Scholz, who described the most likely outcome of current development paths as an existential catastrophe.

Key facts

• Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar introduced a bill to ban artificial superintelligence. (fortune.com)
• The bill would create a Department of Artificial Intelligence to set federal safety rules. (fortune.com)
• Violations of the proposed law could result in up to 20 years in prison. (fortune.com)
• OpenAI safety researcher Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe and Google DeepMind engineer Swante Scholz voiced support for the bill. (fortune.com)

Sources

• [1] fortune.com — originally reported as “‘It doesn’t take a genius to say, 'slow it down'': Bernie Sanders unveils bill to ban artificial superintelligence”