
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) have introduced new legislation that would ban anyone from developing artificial superintelligence - a technology the bill describes as capable of the "destruction or disempowerment of humanity," including by overthrowing the government. Under the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, AI leaders would face up to 20 years in prison for violating the law. The bill doesn't just take aim at the more powerful superintelligence, a
A bill has been introduced to ban the development of artificial superintelligence, which the legislation describes as a technology capable of destroying or disempowering humanity, including by overthrowing the government. Under the proposed law, AI leaders who violate the ban could face up to 20 years in prison, a penalty comparable to existing laws against unlawfully developing nuclear weapons. The bill would also pause development of advanced AI systems until the government creates a new Department of Artificial Intelligence to oversee the technology and approve frontier model development. This legislation reflects growing concerns about rapid AI development and calls to slow its progress.
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Democrats’ historic victories in this week’s U.S. midterm elections could also transform the tech industry. The public voted on 41 data center-related ballot measures on Tuesday — in all but one, the majority voted to impose more restrictions on data center development. And even when data centers weren’t on the ballot directly, they were a […]

On Tuesday, millions of American voters went to the polls and voted overwhelmingly for Democrats and against AI. The fight against Big Tech is about to come roaring back, and the fight over data centers is looking even harder for the folks trying to build them. On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David discuss what the 2026 midterms mean for the tech industry going forward. They dig into the self-quarantining echo chamber that is X, the congressional energy likely to b

Schools choosing to restrict AI altogether will no longer be able to access Google Search, as AI features are now integrated into the search engine.
Also reported by The Verge, Ars Technica and Wired AI

Concerns are being raised that neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia are doing their due diligence when it comes to vetting Chinese firms cleared to handle the company's H200 AI chips. According to The New York Times, New Matrix is on the list of approved firms, yet its offices are empty, "a hollow gray shell with wires dangling from the ceiling where lights should be." In fact, the paper could find little evidence that the company exists in any meaningful way: Only scant

Donald Trump’s big, rapid American AI buildout now faces a major slowdown as voters in yesterday’s elections overwhelmingly supported candidates and measures that favored increasing restrictions on AI and data centers nationwide. One resource from a polling firm, called Redbud Consulting, tracked data center initiatives on the ballot and reported that out of 44 measures across 10 states seeking to restrict data centers, 38 passed so far. Those measures included dozens of moratoriums and bans. An

China's intelligence agency recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to The New York Times. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) enlisted her to glean information about American AI chips and "potentially influence the company to push for its most advanced chips to be made available to China." Megaspeed is a customer of Nvidia's, and Alice Huang also has "relationships with executives at the highest levels of the A.I. chip industry,"