WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. And Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act on Wednesday. The legislation would permanently prohibit the development of artificial superintelligence. Bernie Sanders said: "When we deal with AI, it has been developed and it is being pushed by a handful, a small number, of the wealthiest people on Earth. And their main goal is to simply increase their wealth and power." Sanders said: "It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘slow it down.’ 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 said: "I think Trump has very little understanding of what this issue is about. I think he’s mainly concerned about the economic implications of a slowdown."

The bill defines artificial superintelligence as a system that exceeds human cognitive ability or has sufficient capabilities to plan and execute the destruction or disempowerment of humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government. The legislation proposes creating a Cabinet-level Department of Artificial Intelligence, led by a secretary of AI, to regulate and supervise the technology.

The bill would temporarily pause the development of advanced AI systems until new federal safety rules are established. Advanced AI systems would need federal approval from the Department of Artificial Intelligence before they could be deployed.

Violating the rules would carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for individuals. The legislation imposes a "corporate death penalty" in which charter holders could have their intellectual property and assets seized by the federal government.

The penalty of up to 20 years in prison is similar to existing penalties for unlawfully developing nuclear weapons. Individuals who violate the provisions would be barred from working in the AI industry for 10 years.

The agency would oversee the removal of dangerous features and supervise the destruction of artificial superintelligence. The Department of Artificial Intelligence would be supported by scientific and technical advice from a new board.

The legislation calls for international coordination to institute a global ban, including pursuing international agreements and instituting export controls on artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. The bill would require the AI Department to work with the State Department to pursue international agreements to ban superintelligent AI.

The bill includes a list of precursors to define the development of superintelligence, including the capacity to automate or greatly accelerate the process of artificial intelligence research and development. The goal of the precursor definitions is to bar recursive self-improvement in AI systems.

Casar said the bill’s ban on AI systems that display superintelligence precursor characteristics, including the capacity to uplift the design of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, deceive humans or modify its own functions. Casar said the bill would not pause all AI systems and expressed excitement about the technology’s potential to lead to medical breakthroughs.

Sanders told reporters on a call Wednesday, "Virtually nothing is happening to prepare us for the tsunami that is coming." Sanders said on Wednesday’s call, "We’re dealing with something that humanity has never seen before. It is clearly the most transformational technology in the history of the world, and it is moving very, very rapidly."

Multiple employees at leading AI companies endorsed the bill. Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a researcher in OpenAI’s Safety Systems, said in a statement supporting the bill 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, said in a statement that on the current path of development, the "most likely outcome is an existential catastrophe for humanity." Scholz said in a statement that "A ban on superintelligence development would be a positive change for the foreseeable future."

Caleb Max, president and CEO of the National AI Association, said, "Sen. Sanders’ bill will be dead on arrival with both the AI industry and Washington." Max said, "Some CEOs would say we have already crossed the threshold set out in the bill, meaning this is a de facto AI ban." Max said the penalties outlined in the bill are "likely unconstitutional and, again, poorly defined."

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, said in a statement that Sanders and Casar "deserve credit for taking superintelligence seriously and pushing Congress to act," but stopped short of endorsing the ban. Steinhauser said, "While we support lawmakers confronting the risks of superintelligence head-on, The Alliance believes that a more measured approach is necessary to get this right." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had proposed creating a notification mechanism to alert China about severe AI incidents after a meeting with a Chinese delegation on Sunday.

Why It Matters

The legislation represents a shift in regulatory approach by proposing a permanent ban on a specific class of technology rather than incremental safety standards. The definition of artificial superintelligence includes systems capable of overthrowing the federal government, linking national security directly to AI development constraints. The proposed penalties, including a corporate death penalty and prison terms comparable to nuclear weapons violations, signal the severity with which sponsors view the potential risks.

The bill arrives with growing public concern, with a recent poll showing a 12 percentage point increase in Americans who are extremely or very concerned about AI's environmental impacts. Industry reactions are divided, with some researchers endorsing the ban as necessary to prevent existential catastrophe while industry leaders argue the measures are unconstitutional and poorly defined. The proposal also intersects with ongoing diplomatic efforts, as the bill requires international coordination and comes as President Trump prepares to meet with Chinese leadership.

Timeline

In June, Sanders introduced legislation to create a sovereign wealth fund financed through a one-time tax on the stock of the largest AI companies. On September 16, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana tried to get unanimous consent to pass a "kill switch" bill last week, which would require AI companies to have an emergency shutoff, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Blocked the "kill switch" bill. Also on September 16, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last week to accelerate implementation of a California law that calls for independent oversight of AI companies.

On September 20, Treasury Secretary Bessent said he had proposed creating a notification mechanism to alert China about severe AI incidents after a meeting with a Chinese delegation on Sunday. On September 22, Trump said at the U.N. General Assembly, "The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globality scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now, hereinafter called super intelligence. Changing the name. The use of the word artificial makes intellig. Trump also said at the U.N. General Assembly, From this point forward, all of United States’ documents, and hopefully the world’s, will be changed to use the much more accurate term, ‘super,’ as opposed to ‘artificial’. Additionally, Trump said at the U.N. General Assembly, Whoever wins AI, you have to remember this … whoever wins SI, whoever wins superintelligence wins. That’s the group that wins. And we’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else and we’re going to keep it that way."

What's New

Later reporting included additional statements from key figures. Sanders said in a press release, When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules." Swante Scholz said in a statement that "A ban on superintelligence development would be a positive change for the foreseeable future." Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, said in a statement that Sanders and Casar "deserve credit for taking superintelligence seriously and pushing Congress to act, but stopped short of endorsing the ban.

A former Anthropic researcher said earlier this month that there is a more than 10 percent chance AI could kill all humans" by the end of the decade. The Department of Artificial Intelligence would be supported by scientific and technical advice from a new board. Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a researcher in OpenAI’s Safety Systems, said in a statement supporting the bill that "superintelligence could either go extremely right or extremely wrong" and that "we shouldn’t be playing such games."