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Sanders Proposes 'Corporate Death Penalty' for AI Developers, Sparking Concerns Among Experts
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In Short: Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation that would impose severe penalties on U.S. artificial intelligence developers, a move that experts warn could give a technological edge to foreign adversaries.
Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation that would impose severe penalties on U.S. artificial intelligence developers, a move that experts warn could give a technological edge to foreign adversaries. The proposal, which includes a 'corporate death penalty' and up to 20 years in prison for tech companies found attempting to circumvent federal prohibitions, has sparked concerns among experts who argue that it could severely handicap domestic innovation.
Greg Casar, a Democratic representative from Texas, introduced the legislation, which seeks to impose a 'corporate death penalty' on American artificial intelligence developers. Critics warn that this move could severely hinder domestic innovation and give foreign adversaries a significant advantage in the global AI race. The proposal has drawn criticism from experts who argue that it could stifle innovation and hinder the development of advanced technologies.
California's Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, has a history of defending the death penalty while serving as California's attorney general. However, as the front-running candidate for governor, he has vowed to block executions if elected in November. This stance has reassured anti-death penalty advocates who are wary of Becerra, who has stated throughout his career that capital punishment should be an option for victims seeking justice.
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- But while progressives frame the measure as an urgent check on "AI oligarchs," experts are warning that imposing sweeping criminal penalties on U.S. firms will severely handicap domestic innovation, while foreign adversaries will be able to continue expanding their capabilities unchecked.
- "If the United States stops developing advanced AI, China is unlikely to follow. Surrendering the lead in a potentially transformative technology would carry serious economic and national security costs," Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading nonpartisan tech-innovation policy think tank, said in response to Sanders' proposal.
- Tech companies found attempting to circumvent the federal prohibition would face a "corporate death penalty"—an unprecedented enforcement mechanism that strips a firm's legal authority to conduct business in the United States.
- “I support the death penalty, but I hate the way it’s being executed,” Becerra told state lawmakers in 2017.
- “If you commit some heinous crime where you have taken the life of someone else, and you knew that there was a death penalty in place in that place where you committed that crime, then you should face the punishment for what you’ve done,” he explained.
- Becerra’s challenger in the Nov. 3 election, former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton, opposes the death penalty but said he would rescind Newsom’s moratorium because it defies the will of voters.
- Becerra has said he is concerned by how death sentences historically have been applied, including a highly disproportionate number of condemned inmates who are Black or Latino men and cases in which they later have been exonerated of crimes.
- In California, county district attorneys are responsible for prosecuting the vast majority of accused murderers when they go to trial and also deciding whether to seek the death penalty.