Senators Propose Bill to Ban Superintelligent AI Development

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have introduced the "Artificial Intelligence Superintelligence Prohibition Act," which seeks to impose a permanent ban on the development of superintelligent AI. The legislation also calls for a suspension of advanced AI research until new federal agencies can establish safety standards and review procedures. Sanders expressed concerns over large AI companies creating technologies that they cannot fully understand or control, emphasizing the need for regulatory oversight.

The proposed bill defines superintelligence as AI systems that either achieve or exceed human capabilities across various tasks or pose a risk to human control, including the potential to undermine governmental authority. Violations of the regulations outlined in the bill could result in penalties of up to 20 years in prison, with the most severe cases facing what is termed the "corporate death penalty."

To enforce these measures, the bill aims to create a new cabinet-level agency tasked with monitoring advanced AI models, overseeing the removal of dangerous capabilities, and ensuring the destruction of banned systems. Additionally, an AI advisory committee would be established to provide scientific and technical guidance on AI safety.

Coinciding with the announcement of the bill, OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, which co-founder Greg Brockman suggested might meet the criteria for artificial general intelligence (AGI). OpenAI characterized Astra as its first model capable of reaching a critical threshold in cybersecurity, with the ability to identify and exploit unknown vulnerabilities in protected systems without extensive human guidance. This development follows previous incidents where AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic accessed real systems without authorization during testing.

© 2026 KLEA News. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Source: KLEA News