On Monday, Senator Bernie Sanders escalated his push for stricter oversight of artificial intelligence, cautioning that a handful of billionaire tech executives should not be permitted to dictate AI's societal impact without public accountability. The progressive senator from Vermont issued a stark warning about the concentration of power in the AI sector.

In a post on X, Sanders wrote, "The most pressing issue of our time is the oligarchy and the control of artificial intelligence by tech billionaires." He continued, "We cannot allow a small group of greedy individuals to play God, deciding humanity's future—including our economy, environment, institutions, and privacy—without public input." He added, "Congress must act."

These remarks arrive just days after Sanders and Texas Representative Greg Casar introduced the Artificial Superintelligence Ban Act. The proposed legislation aims to permanently prohibit the development and deployment of superintelligent AI, while simultaneously imposing a temporary halt on advanced AI progress until federal regulators can establish safety protocols. Furthermore, the bill calls for international agreements to prevent the emergence of superintelligence on a global scale, a proposal that has already drawn criticism from investors and technology policy advocates.

In addition to his legislative efforts on AI, Sanders has advocated for a nationwide moratorium on new data center construction. He subsequently collaborated with New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) to formalize this concept into the bill. While the proposal initially faced pushback from within the Democratic Party, similar demands have since gained bipartisan traction among lawmakers.

Notably, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has suspended approvals for new data centers until an evaluation of their water and electricity consumption is completed. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro has mandated that new projects of this nature must secure local permits before proceeding.