Sanders and Casar propose ban on artificial superintelligence

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Greg Casar of Texas introduced legislation Wednesday that would pause the development of artificial superintelligence until the federal government creates a Cabinet-level Department of Artificial Intelligence to regulate and supervise advanced AI systems.

The 19-page Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act outlines capabilities that could qualify a system as superintelligent, including the ability to automate or sharply accelerate AI research and development. An aide involved in drafting the bill told NBC News that it is intended to prevent recursive self-improvement, in which AI systems could train themselves to become increasingly capable.

Violations could carry prison sentences of up to 20 years and what the lawmakers described as a “corporate death penalty.” Sanders compared the maximum prison term to the penalty for unlawfully building nuclear weapons.

Sanders said Congress had done little to prepare for rapidly advancing AI and argued that the technology’s development is controlled by a small group of wealthy people seeking greater wealth and power. Technical experts have cautioned that defining superintelligence could be difficult because the boundaries between levels of AI capability remain unclear.

Politico reported that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and nine other House Democrats signed on to the AI superintelligence ban. The bill also received support from ControlAI, an advocacy organization seeking stronger safeguards on advanced AI, and University of Texas law professor Kevin Frazier. NBC News reported there was little expectation that major AI legislation would pass Congress this year.