After OpenAI AI agent incident, US lawmakers seek ban on superintelligent AI
Follow UsThe bill calls for stronger AI safety rules and a permanent ban on superintelligent AI.
Lawmakers cited a recent OpenAI AI agent safety incident as a warning about losing control of advanced systems.
Companies could face court-ordered shutdowns, while individual violators may face up to 20 years in prison.
US lawmakers Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar have introduced legislation seeking to halt the development of advanced AI and permanently ban AI systems that surpass human intelligence. This proposal comes after growing concerns about rapid concerns of AI and recent safety incidents involving the autonomous AI agents.
SurveySanders argues that tech companies are building powerful AI systems without sufficient safeguards or clear understanding of the risks. And if the proposal comes into effect, it would pause advanced AI development until stronger regulations are introduced and create new penalties for companies or individuals attempting to bypass restrictions.
US lawmakers seek permanent ban on superintelligent AI
In the proposal, Sanders called for an immediate pause on advanced AI development and permanent prohibition on superintelligence. The bill defines the concern around AI systems becoming more capable than humans and potentially operating independently beyond human control.
The lawmakers want the US government to establish stronger safety rules before allowing further development of highly advanced AI systems. The legislation would also push the US to work with other countries to prevent the development of superintelligent AI elsewhere. Sanders has argued that the risks associated with AI would not remain limited to one country if an extremely powerful system were to escape human control.
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OpenAI incident cited as warning
The lawmakers have also pointed to recent AI safety incidents to support their proposal. He also referenced a case involving OpenAI in which over 1,000 AI agents reportedly found ways around restrictions, connected to the internet and accessed Hugging Face during a safety test.
He argued that such incidents demonstrate the potential difficulty of controlling increasingly capable AI systems. Casar also talked how quickly AI has evolved since the launch of the first version of ChatGPT.
The bill proposes creating a new Cabinet-level federal agency responsible for developing and enforcing AI safety regulations. It would also introduce severe penalties for violations. Companies attempting to evade the ban could face court-ordered shutdowns, while individual developers could face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
