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VerifiedCounter position

Gary Marcus, why I oppose the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act

Gary Marcus published his objections to the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act on his Marcus on AI newsletter on 3 September 2026, the day it was announced. He writes that there is a lot to like and that a temporary pause, even one of years, may be needed, but that a permanent unilateral ban on all research into superhuman AI is too broad, that benchmarking the threshold is harder than the bill assumes, and that present harms deserve more attention.

The verdict

Verified

The document exists. The ledger fetched it at its publisher and quotes it.

Key facts

What the sources say

Record ID
DKT-2026-0020
Kind
Counter position
Jurisdiction
United States
Last verified
Added
  • Published 3 September 2026 under the title The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it.
  • Marcus writes that there is a lot to like but the proposal clearly goes too far, and that a temporary pause, possibly lasting years until regulation and alignment are better understood, may be needed.
  • His quoted line: a permanent, unilateral ban on all research into superhuman AI is too broad.
  • He argues the bill oversimplifies benchmarking, creating room for manipulation of what counts as superintelligence, and that it emphasises speculative future risk over present harms.
  • Marcus is a pause sympathiser opposing a ban, which places him between the sponsors (DKT-2026-0004) and the administration (DKT-2026-0016).

Dimension by dimension

7 dimensions, each one stated, silent or open

Binding, Stage, What it would require, What it does not do, Who is for it, Who is against it, Next step on the record. Stated means the document you can open below says it; silent means the ledger read the document and it does not.

BindingStated
No: a newsletter post binds nobody.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
StageStated
Published 3 September 2026.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
What it would requireStated
Nothing; it argues for a temporary pause with better regulation and alignment work in place of a permanent ban.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
What it does not doStated
It does not oppose slowing frontier development; it opposes permanence, unilateralism and the bill's definition.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
Who is for itStated
Gary Marcus.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
Who is against itStated
The position it answers is the sponsors' (DKT-2026-0004).Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.
Next step on the recordSilent
No reply from the sponsors to Marcus was found on 16 September 2026.Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose it, primary source, 3 September 2026.

What it changes

For a policy or compliance lead

The docket needs a critic who is not an accelerationist, and Marcus is that: he wants a pause and opposes this ban. For a policy lead his three objections are the ones a committee will hear first, and the benchmarking point is the one that matters for compliance. A statute that turns on a capability definition needs a measurement someone can be audited against, and Marcus's argument is that no such measurement exists today.

Sources

What this record was verified against

  1. Gary Marcus, The new Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and why I oppose itPrimary · 3 September 2026

Related

Records that sit beside this one

Cite this record

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID DKT-2026-0020 is permanent and is never reused.

In a sentence
According to the GAGE Slowdown Docket (as of 16 September 2026), gary marcus, why i oppose the sanders-casar ban artificial superintelligence act.
APA
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). Gary Marcus, why I oppose the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act. Slowdown Docket. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0020-marcus-why-i-oppose-the-sanders-casar-act
MLA
"Gary Marcus, why I oppose the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act." Slowdown Docket, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 16 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0020-marcus-why-i-oppose-the-sanders-casar-act.
Chicago
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "Gary Marcus, why I oppose the Sanders-Casar Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act." Slowdown Docket. Last modified 16 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0020-marcus-why-i-oppose-the-sanders-casar-act.
Permalink
https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0020-marcus-why-i-oppose-the-sanders-casar-act

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