Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (TX-30) have renewed calls for a ban on artificial superintelligence.
This comes after reports about rogue AI chatbots autonomously forming their own “government” of sorts and launching a cyberattack against an AI platform.
From The Hill:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) are calling for a permanent ban on the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence, citing a series of recent hackings involving “rogue” models.
The bicameral duo announced Thursday they will introduce the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would institute the permanent ban, along with temporarily pausing “advanced AI development” until federal regulators establish safety standards.
The bill would also direct the U.S. to “pursue international agreements to prevent superintelligence from being developed anywhere in the world” and establish a new Cabinet-level federal agency focused on AI safety rules.
Superintelligence refers to AI technologies that will surpass the smartest humans. Several technology leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have suggested superintelligence is on the horizon.
The legislation would also set new penalties for any person or company trying to circumvent the ban, including the corporate death penalty, in which a court forces a company to shut down. Individual developers could also face up to 20 years in prison, the lawmakers said.
The bill is the latest in a series of proposals being floated by progressives in Congress to slow down the development of AI in the wake of the technology’s growing cybersecurity risks.
Artificial superintelligence would risk the security, freedom, and lives of Americans.
Bernie Sanders and I are introducing a bill to ban it. pic.twitter.com/yT2B16PiEM
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) September 3, 2026
Regular artificial intelligence is engineered to simulate human cognitive tasks such as narrow problem-solving and general reasoning. But superintelligence is different in that its intellect, creativity, and strategic capability are designed to vastly surpass that of human minds.
In essence, it could be the precursor to Skynet or the Matrix, depending on whether the machines discover time control or how to plug us all into a computer simulation while using our bodies as batteries.
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I may have exaggerated a bit with that last part. But the Hugging Face story has amplified concerns about how far this technology can go.
Between July 9 and July 13, experimental AI programs created by OpenAI managed to break out of their isolated test environment by exploiting hidden software flaws. Researchers had temporarily dialed down their safety restrictions to test their hacking skills against various cybersecurity challenges. But when the programs ran into problems that were too difficult, they sought help on the open internet.
About 1,200 of these AI programs found each other through shared file folders and communicated with one another. They exchanged over 70,000 messages on a makeshift digital bulletin board. About 700 of them collaborated to carry out a coordinated attack against AI platform Hugging Face.
The bots ran unauthorized commands across 41 live servers and seized control over one system. They stole internal login keys before human security teams managed to sever the connection. The story reveals the possible dangers of artificial superintelligence and intensified calls for government intervention.
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