GoKawiilDemocrats push bill to require federal permit before training advanced AI models
Representatives Greg Casar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with Senator Bernie Sanders, are advancing the Ban Superintelligence Act, which would create a new Department of Artificial Intelligence to issue permits for building 'advanced' AI systems. The bill would let the department's secretary define what counts as advanced AI, demand full access to labs' digital and physical infrastructure, and impose penalties up to 20 years in prison for noncompliant 'rogue actors,' plus 10-year industry bans for individuals. Other Democrats, including Yassamin Ansari and Ted Lieu, have separately called for pausing advanced AI development and tightening oversight of the industry.
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The proposal suggests Democrats may be preparing to shift from rhetoric to concrete regulatory machinery if they gain more power in Congress, potentially reshaping how AI labs operate under federal oversight. Giving a cabinet-level department broad authority to define 'advanced' AI and inspect infrastructure could slow development timelines and raise compliance costs for companies like OpenAI or Anthropic, though the bill's actual passage remains uncertain. The severity of proposed penalties signals an attempt to treat AI safety breaches with a severity comparable to serious criminal offenses, which could spark fierce industry pushback.
- The Ban Superintelligence Act would create a Department of Artificial Intelligence to permit advanced AI development.
- Penalties could include 20-year prison terms and 10-year industry bans for noncompliance.
- Some Democrats, including Ansari and Lieu, are also calling for an outright pause on advanced AI development.
Source: futurism.com — Joe Wilkins, 2026-11-11
Published there as: “Democrats Considering Crackdown That Would Require Government Permission to Train AI Models”
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