“A big day with President Xi of China. Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ!
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The Day After Trump Tells the U.N. "Welcome to the New World of Super Intelligence," Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar Introduce a Bill to Ban It — Sanders Says "When You Are Racing Towards a Cliff … You Hit the Brakes," While John Kennedy Says "I'm Not Going to Support That Right Now" and Rick Scott Calls Controlling AI by Statute "a Joke"
September 23, 2026
On September 23, 2026, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which they first announced on September 3. The bill would permanently ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence, impose an immediate pause on advanced "frontier" AI development until a federal regulator writes safety rules, create a cabinet-level Department of Artificial Intelligence to enforce it, and direct the United States to pursue international agreements — including with China — so that no one builds AI "too powerful for humans to control." Violations would carry corporate dissolution and up to 20 years in prison. The bill landed a day after President Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that U.S. documents would now call AI "super intelligence," rejected any "globalist scheme of control" and said the United States would encourage the technology rather than rein it in. Casar's statement answered him directly: "Donald Trump says he wants to encourage it. Something has to change." It faces long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress. Asked by the Daily Caller the week before whether they would back a ban on AI that surpasses human intelligence, Sen. John Kennedy said "No," Sen. Rick Scott called the idea of passing a bill to control AI "a joke," and Sen. Josh Hawley said he was "really worried about superintelligence" but would not commit to a ban.
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Statements Recorded
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7 Statements
“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don't just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules. Scientists have been clear: AI is an existential threat to humanity. It must be treated as such. This legislation will permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence and would put in place an immediate pause on advanced AI development until we have clear safety rules in place — developed by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country. Congress must act now before it is too late.
“It doesn't take a genius to say, 'slow it down.' … Do we really want to develop a super intelligence that when it becomes smarter than human beings could act independently of human control? I don't think we do. … I think Trump has very little understanding of what this issue is about. I think he's mainly concerned about the economic implications of a slowdown. … Ronald Reagan, arch-conservative, was smart enough to understand that he had to sit down with Gorbachev, a communist, and work out a nuclear treaty that protected humanity. I think we can do that again now.
“Experts are warning that AI superintelligence, wielded by the wrong humans or by rogue AI, could kill countless numbers of people. But Donald Trump says he wants to encourage it. Something has to change. Our bill bans the development of artificial superintelligence and pushes for international agreements so that no one, anywhere, builds AI too powerful for humans to control.
“I do think we need to be really worried about superintelligence. [Hawley would not commit to a ban, pointing instead to making tech companies liable for what their AI agents do.]
“My expectation is that the builders of the AI have a responsibility to protect our kids and protect our families. … You think we're going to pass some bill that's going to control AI? That's a joke.
“No, I'm not going to support that right now. [Kennedy said he prefers] a light touch system of rules.
Background (2)— earlier statements that set the stage▸
“The future of humanity cannot be left in the hands of a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. … That's why I am introducing legislation to immediately pause the development of increasingly powerful AI and ban the creation of systems that humanity cannot fully control — at home and around the world.
“[Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, Trump said U.S. documents would now refer to AI as "super intelligence," rejected any "globalist scheme of control" over the technology and said the United States would encourage it:] Welcome to the new world of super intelligence, SI.