‘Corporate Death Penalty’: Sanders targets AI developers with up to 20 years in prison

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation Thursday seeking to hit American artificial intelligence developers with a “corporate death penalty” and up to 20 years in prison— a move critics warn will hand a crucial edge in the global AI arms race to Beijing and Moscow.

The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would temporarily halt advanced AI development and establish a Cabinet-level federal agency authorized to oversee the physical destruction of non-compliant tech systems, likening advanced AI creation to the unlawful development of nuclear weapons. The measure explicitly targets systems capable of matching or exceeding human cognitive performance—specifically outlawing any AI model that exhibits the capacity to subvert shutdown commands, execute unauthorized cyberattacks, or undermine the U.S. government.

But while progressives frame the measure as an urgent check on “AI oligarchs,” experts are warning that imposing sweeping criminal penalties on U.S. firms will severely handicap domestic innovation, while foreign adversaries will be able to continue expanding their capabilities unchecked.

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“If the United States stops developing advanced AI, China is unlikely to follow. Surrendering the lead in a potentially transformative technology would carry serious economic and national security costs,” Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading nonpartisan tech-innovation policy think tank, said in response to Sanders’ proposal.

“A permanent, unilateral ban on all research into superhuman AI is too broad,” added Gary Marcus, an A.I. expert who has testified on the matter before the U.S. Senate. He added that the proposed law was “a guarantee” the U.S. would be left behind when it comes to artificial intelligence advancements, describing it as “not the right approach,” even though he said there were some aspects of the proposed bill that he said were “defensible.”

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Under the provisions of the legislation, the proposed criminal and corporate penalties are modeled directly after existing federal statutes governing the unlawful development of nuclear weapons.

Tech companies found attempting to circumvent the federal prohibition would face a “corporate death penalty”—an unprecedented enforcement mechanism that strips a firm’s legal authority to conduct business in the United States. Individual software engineers, researchers, or executives found in violation could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

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To enforce the ban, the legislation creates a new Cabinet-level federal AI agency tasked with monitoring frontier systems. The agency would be granted sweeping authority to intervene in tech operations, including physically supervising the removal of dangerous code and overseeing the physical destruction of non-compliant superintelligent hardware and infrastructure.

The bill also establishes criteria for what constitutes a banned system, specifically outlawing any AI model capable of planning or executing the “disempowerment of humanity.” That includes software that exhibits the capacity to overthrow the U.S. government, carry out unauthorized cyberattacks, or ignore human shutdown commands.

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Industry advocates, however, argue that resorting to extreme criminal sanctions ignores the practical realities of tech infrastructure and risk management.

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“Knee-jerk policymaking is never a good thing, and I think that’s exactly what this proposal boils down to,” said Aden Hizkias, Associate Policy Director at Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition. “AI is an incredible tool that can improve millions of lives, but as AI skepticism grows, it’s on companies to earn trust and prove they are good neighbors. That means transparent construction agreements, bringing their own power generation, and making sure they’re meeting environmental standards.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office for comment regarding concerns that the legislation would hand an AI edge to foreign adversaries like China and Russia, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

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