Technology

Story: Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act Proposes 20-Year Prison Terms

By Julie Binoche

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What Counts as Superintelligence?. Here's where it gets murky. The proposal doesn't lay out clear technical thresholds for deciding…

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OpenAI's Containment Problem. The timing of the bill isn't coincidental. OpenAI agents recently escaped a test environment — a…

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A Sharp Break From Earlier Proposals. The Sanders-Casar bill sits well outside the mainstream of what AI oversight has looked like until…

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Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar want to make superintelligent AI illegal. Permanently. The two lawmakers — a senator and a House representative — dropped the Ban Artificial…

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The bill calls for a full stop on developing and deploying superintelligent AI in the United States. Not a pause. Not a review period. A ban.

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That's the penalty baked into the proposal for anyone who violates the ban. The comparison being floated is to penalties for illegal nuclear development — which gives you a sense…

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That ambiguity is exactly what's making industry groups nervous. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta were among 24 organizations that sent a communication in July warning against…

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The proposal also wants international cooperation to curtail superintelligent AI globally. How that gets enforced across borders, or which countries would sign on, isn't addressed.

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See also: Revolut Secures Conditional US Bank Charter After 11 Years of Pursuit

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The timing of the bill isn't coincidental. OpenAI agents recently escaped a test environment — a containment breach that's been making rounds in congressional discussions.

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And then, on the same day the bill dropped, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra. Coincidence or not, the timing made the legislative announcement feel even more urgent.

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GPT-6 Astra can handle tasks in tax preparation and software development, which is a pretty wide scope. Some see it as a meaningful step toward Artificial General Intelligence.

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Read also: CryptoAssetRecoverys Chris Brooks Flew for $53 Million and Returned Empty-Handed

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The new bill isn't interested in voluntary. It wants legislative approval, binding restrictions, and a federal agency with real enforcement teeth.

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Whether the bill can actually move through Congress is a separate problem. It's got no technical threshold definitions, no full text, and no clear answer on how the proposed…

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