# Sanders and Casar propose ban and development pause for advanced AI

_Published Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 12:40 PM EDT · Policy, AI · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

![US-POLITICS-AI — Primary](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2294931488.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200)

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar have introduced legislation that would ban development of artificial superintelligence and pause work on advanced AI systems until a new federal oversight department is established. Their bill would then require companies to obtain that department's permission to develop advanced models.

The proposed Department of Artificial Intelligence would monitor frontier models and oversee the removal of dangerous features. The bill provides penalties of up to 20 years in prison for violations by company leaders or other actors. These restrictions are provisions of introduced legislation, not rules currently in force.

## Sources

- [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/999443/bernie-sanders-ai-superintelligence-ban-act)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/gkUBBTDLGl0nNgihtX2U87
Published: 2026-09-23T16:40:10.918Z
Story chronology: 2026-09-23T16:23:05.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-09-23T18:49:48.961Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)