Bernie Sanders says the potential danger of AI is “probably greater” than nuclear weapons

September 15, 2026 / 3:14 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The potential danger artificial intelligence poses to humans is "probably greater" than the threat posed by nuclear weapons, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Tuesday.

Sanders made the comments in an interview with CBS News political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns ahead of his speech at the Pro-Human Assembly conference on AI. Sanders said he plans to introduce legislation next week to permanently ban super intelligence, meaning AI smarter than humans and capable of escaping control. The bill would also pause advanced AI development. As a consequence for violations, Sanders is proposing 20 years in prison.

"Well, when you are dealing with a technology that can threaten the future of humanity and when you have laws hopefully that will be passed that say, 'You know what, you can't break the law.' And if you do break a law which threatens the future of humanity, I don't think it is wrong to say that there should be stiff penalties attached to that," Sanders said.

Huey-Burns pointed out that those penalties are the same length as for those charged with illegal nuclear weapons development. Sanders said "the analogy is appropriate, exactly."

"You…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/