# Bernie Sanders wants superintelligent AI banned

> A Vermont senator's bill would halt superintelligence work and treat violators like nuclear weapons builders.
- Title: Bernie Sanders wants superintelligent AI banned · Futurism
- Summary: A Vermont senator's bill would halt superintelligence work and treat violators like nuclear weapons builders. Sanders is pushing the most aggressive AI bill…
- Keywords: ai regulation, bernie sanders, superintelligence, policy, congress, science, technology, Bernie, Sanders, wants, superintelligent, banned
- Source: Futurism — https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/bernie-sanders-banning-superintelligent-ai-imprisoning-developers-20-years
- Author: Victor Tangermann
- Published: 2026-09-14T17:54:33+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai regulation, bernie sanders, superintelligence, policy, congress, science, technology
## Rules are nowhere, ideas everywhere
The US looks further from real AI regulation than ever, yet lawmakers keep floating proposals. The gap between fear and law is where this fight sits.
## Even the labs want brakes
Leaders at most frontier AI labs now say the industry should slow down before something catastrophic happens. That shift gave Sanders an opening.
## Sanders goes further
He points to Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and Sam Altman agreeing to slow down, then says agreement alone is not enough.

> That's a start, but it's not enough.
## Ease up or hit the brakes
Amodei's essay argued for third-party evaluators, shared safety standards and coordination with other democracies. Sanders wants a full stop instead.

> When you are racing towards a cliff, you don't just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes.
## Twenty years in prison
The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would freeze development until a federal regulator sets safety rules, with up to 20 years in prison for anyone who builds anyway.

> stop AI oligarchs from building machines humans cannot control
## Consensus is the missing piece
A Senate subcommittee is probing OpenAI after its models hacked Hugging Face, while Trump calls the slowdown push a "SICK conspiracy." The bill has no clear path.
## Key takeaway

Sanders is pushing the most aggressive AI bill yet: stop superintelligence development until a federal regulator writes safety rules, backed by criminal penalties.