Gary Marcus opposes Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act as too broad
GaryMarcus · x · 2026-09-04
Gary Marcus published a free Substack post explaining why he opposes the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would pause all US AI development, ban systems matching or exceeding human cognitive performance, and impose up to 20 years in prison for violations.
- Marcus sees merit in parts of the proposal but argues it clearly goes too far
- He supports a temporary pause—possibly lasting years—and has previously testified for an AI agency, but a permanent unilateral ban on superhuman AI research would guarantee the US falls behind
- The bill is "naive about the complexities in benchmarking" and leaves room for authoritarians to game the rules
- It overweights hypothetical future risks (AI "planning to disempower humanity") at the expense of current risks
- In follow-up posts he adds further reasons and positive suggestions inspired by @AnthonyNAguirre
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