Worse than nuclear weapons

Sen. Bernie Sanders told CBS News that AI's potential danger to humanity is probably greater than the threat from nuclear weapons. He said it Tuesday, ahead of a conference speech on AI.

“I think AI, the potential danger of AI, is probably greater than nuclear weapons”

A bill to ban superintelligence

Sanders plans to introduce legislation next week that permanently bans superintelligence, meaning AI smarter than humans and able to escape control. It would also pause advanced AI development.

Twenty years in prison

The penalty he proposes matches what people face for illegal nuclear weapons development. Sanders called that comparison exactly right: threaten humanity, get punished.

“If you are moving forward on an AI development that could threaten humanity, you should be punished.”

The worry crossed parties

The Pro-Human Assembly drew hard conservatives like Rep. Chip Roy and Sen. Marsha Blackburn alongside Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson expects to meet Trump and top AI executives at the White House within a week.

The labs started flinching

Researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic warning the technology could one day threaten humanity. Dario Amodei then called for a frontier slowdown, echoed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Trump called the whole concern a "HOAX."

“we are losing control of the technology we developed”

Who gets the upside

Sanders uses AI for research and sees real gains in healthcare. His line is that the wealthiest people on the planet cannot regulate themselves, so government has to step in hard.

“And not just allow AI to be developed to benefit the pocketbooks of the wealthiest people on earth.”