Sanders Calls for Pause on Advanced AI and Superintelligence Ban

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont used an appearance on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart to revive a national data-center moratorium and limits on advanced AI systems.

The episode was recorded on Nov. 10 and released the next day, after Democrats won control of Congress. Clash Report circulated a clip of the remarks on Nov. 12.

Data Centers and an AI Pause

Sanders said local opposition to large computing sites had been overlooked. “If my memory is correct,” he said, about 43 of 44 communities that voted on data centers rejected them.

He named Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos as figures “pushing this unbelievable transformative technology on the American people,” while AI guardrails had, in his account, barely been discussed.

“My own view is not only do we need a moratorium on the construction of data centers, national moratorium,” Sanders said, adding that he and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced that measure “six, seven months ago.” “But we need to do a pause on advanced AI development and a ban on superintelligence.”

Warnings of Dire Consequences

Sanders said he had spoken with leading figures in the field. “What they are saying is that if AI becomes smarter than human beings, and if human beings are unable to control AI, there may be very, very dire consequences,” he said. “So why the hell are we not discussing this issue?”

Stewart replied that Americans were being asked to finance a technology that could replace them, and to supply large amounts of water and electricity. Those comments were the host’s.

Bills Remain in Committee

The demand tracks the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026, which Sanders introduced on Sept. 23 as S. 5493. Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, filed a House companion, H.R. 10538, the next day.

The bill would permanently bar systems that exceed human cognitive performance across most domains, or that can plan the destruction or disempowerment of humanity. It would also pause work on “advanced” systems, generally those trained with at least 10^25 computing operations, until a new Department of Artificial Intelligence is staffed and issues safety rules.

Neither bill has had a hearing or a vote. Sponsors have described penalties of up to 20 years in prison for some violations.

A Repeated Midterm Demand

Sanders made the same three-part demand in a video address after the midterms, calling on Democrats to enact a national moratorium on AI data centers, pause advanced AI development and ban superintelligence.

The proposals remain unenacted. President Donald Trump has separately sought to rebrand the technology as “super intelligence,” which Clash Report has previously reported. Sanders’ latest comments restated that agenda. They did not announce a new bill or vote.