Legislation enacts moratorium on advanced AI systems until federal safety standards are established
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Greg Cassar of Texas have introduced a new bill that would impose sweeping restrictions on the artificial intelligence industry, including a ban on the development of so-called artificial superintelligence.
The bill, introduced Wednesday, comes weeks after top researchers in the AI industry issued dire warnings that the technology could wipe out humanity within the next decade, industry officials said.
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The nearly 20-page bill outlines a complete ban on the development of any intelligence capable of surpassing humans and capable of “destroying or disabling humanity, including the overthrow of the federal government.”
The bill also calls for a moratorium on the development of advanced AI systems until a regulatory body that can oversee and develop safety standards is in place, and the creation of a Cabinet-level department called the Department of Artificial Intelligence to oversee the industry.
The proposed agency would be tasked with regulating so-called frontier models, a term referring to the most advanced AI models in development. The agency will ensure that the models are not dangerous, and will have the power to remove them from circulation and oversee their destruction if they become dangerous.
The bill also imposes harsh penalties on those who violate the superintelligence ban, resulting in 20 years in prison, mirroring similar penalties for individuals who develop nuclear weapons. It also states that those who violate the regulations will be banned from working in the AI industry for 10 years.
For corporations, the bill calls for what the bill’s summary refers to as a “corporate death penalty,” in which charter holders could have their intellectual property and assets seized by the federal government.
The law calls for international coordination to enact a global ban. This will include compliance with international agreements and the introduction of export controls on “artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.”
uphill battle
Proponents of repeal say they support the bill but are skeptical.
“It’s unlikely (to pass), but it’s courageous and much safer than the current situation,” Alex Turner, a former researcher who left Google DeepMind in June, told Al Jazeera.
There is concern that the phrase “artificial intelligence systems that perform, or can be easily modified to perform, functions that match or exceed human cognitive abilities and capabilities across a wide range of domains and tasks” is too broad and could potentially cover current systems. “The second definition (deprivation of government power) seems better,” he said.
The bill comes after U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that he would change the name of artificial intelligence to “superintelligence” in all U.S. government documents.
“The United States also completely rejects any attempt to create a globalization scheme to control what is now commonly referred to as artificial intelligence (hereinafter referred to as superintelligence). Change the name,” Trump said.
President Trump said, “When you use the word artificial, it makes it sound like intelligence is fake.”
Pressure on the AI industry increased earlier this month when former Anthropic AI researcher Jacob Coxon announced his resignation from the AI giant in a social media post outlining the dangers of the technology.
“The people developing AI seriously believe that AI could wipe out humanity by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing ploy. If anything, many executives and senior researchers have glossed over their representation in the press to sound sensible, but we hear the same people expressing fear,” Coxon said.
The bill comes close to the initial public offerings of both OpenAI and Anthropic on Wall Street, potentially in 2027 for OpenAI and November for Anthropic.
