3 September 2026 · US Congress
A bill to ban artificial superintelligence
Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar announced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, including a pause on US development. Separately, Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, requiring companies to be able to shut down or throttle their models.
PoliticsCorroboratedMore than one independent source, or a primary document.
What happened
Two bills, two different theories of the problem. One says the thing should not be built. The other says build it, but keep a hand on the switch.
Announced is not passed. Neither is law. Their value right now is as a reading of where the American political conversation has moved in a single year, not as regulation.
What it points at
Put this next to 7 May in Brussels and you get the shape of the year in one comparison. In the US, a bill to pause development and a bill to mandate an off switch. In Europe, an agreement to lighten the rules that already exist.
Neither side is obviously right. But a Belgian audience deserves to see that Europe, which built the strictest AI law in the world, was the one moving towards less in 2026.
Editor's notewhat we make of it, kept apart from what happened
Announced is not passed. Say that out loud before the comparison, or the comparison with Brussels is unfair.
The pairing with 7 May is the whole slide. Two theories of the problem in Washington, and a deferral in Europe.
Sources
- Congress.gov bill textprimary · not read end to end yetPlaceholder. Link both bills by number once they are posted.