Lawmakers Seek to Halt Superintelligent AI Development Amid Fears Over Uncontrollable Tech

A group of US lawmakers has introduced a bill to ban the development of superintelligent AI and put a temporary halt on advanced AI research. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have proposed the 'Prohibition on Superintelligence Act', which aims to prohibit the creation of AI systems that surpass human intelligence or pose a threat to human control.

The bill defines superintelligence as an AI system that can achieve or exceed human capabilities in multiple tasks, or potentially undermine human control. It also covers human-level Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The proposed law would impose up to 20 years of imprisonment on individuals and companies found guilty of developing such systems.

The bill establishes a new cabinet-level agency responsible for monitoring advanced models, removing dangerous capabilities, and destroying banned systems. A panel of experts will be formed to provide scientific and technical advice on AI development. The proposal comes as OpenAI has released its GPT-6 Astra model, which some believe may already meet the definition of AGI.