Sanders, Casar Introduce Bill to Ban Artificial Superintelligence, Create AI Department
The legislation aims to halt development of advanced AI systems until safety guidelines are established, with potential prison sentences for violations.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar have introduced legislation that would ban artificial superintelligence, create a federal agency to oversee advanced artificial intelligence, and pause the development of such systems until safety guidelines are implemented. The bill, provided to The Associated Press, defines artificial superintelligence as a system that exceeds human cognitive ability or could independently plan and execute humanity's destruction or disempowerment.
The proposed Department of Artificial Intelligence would be responsible for establishing federal safety rules, and advanced AI systems would require government approval before deployment. Violations of these regulations could result in penalties, including up to 20 years in prison.
"It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘slow it down,’” Sanders, I-Vt., said in an interview. “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.”
Multiple employees from leading AI companies and experts have endorsed the bill. Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a researcher in OpenAI’s Safety Systems, stated, “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, warned that on the current development path, the “most likely outcome is an existential catastrophe for humanity.”
The bill faces significant challenges in the Republican-controlled Congress. However, it highlights the progressive wing of the Democratic Party's approach to AI regulation ahead of the upcoming elections, with AI expected to be a prominent issue.
Potential presidential candidates are increasingly proposing AI regulations. Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore announced a plan to regulate AI, while California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to accelerate the implementation of a state law requiring independent oversight of AI companies.
Sanders, a two-time presidential candidate, has intensified his focus on AI, previously introducing legislation for a sovereign wealth fund financed by a tax on large AI companies. He recently hosted a briefing on the issue and attended a conference with Republicans.
Concerns about AI's impact are growing, with a recent poll indicating that 53% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about its environmental impacts, an increase from 41% the previous year. Democrats are largely driving this heightened environmental concern, but broader worries about the local impact of data centers, which power AI and cloud computing, are also evident.
In contrast to calls for regulation, former President Donald Trump has taken a different stance, announcing at the United Nations General Assembly that artificial intelligence would be renamed “super intelligence.” Sanders commented that Trump "has very little understanding of what this issue is about” and is likely focused on economic implications.
The debate over AI regulation is also a factor in international competition, particularly between the United States and China, who are vying for dominance in the sector. Sanders suggested that cooperation between the two countries may be necessary to manage the risks of advanced AI, drawing a parallel to nuclear arms control treaties during the Cold War.