# OpenAI Says Artificial General Intelligence Is Here. Bernie Sanders Is Calling For a Pause of AI Development. > Source: > Published: 2026-09-03 18:56:15+00:00 # OpenAI Says Artificial General Intelligence Is Here. Bernie Sanders Is Calling For a Pause of AI Development. ## "We need an immediate PAUSE on advanced AI development, and a permanent BAN on superintelligence," Sanders said. Senator Bernie Sanders called for an immediate pause on [AI development](https://www.ibtimes.com/topic/ai), citing the different instances in which models have gone rogue in the past weeks. "If the leaders of the major AI companies acknowledge that they are losing control of their extremely dangerous technology, it is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced," Sanders said in a social media publication. To back his point, he cited the top officials of the main AI-related companies [in the U.S.](https://www.ibtimes.com/topic/us), who have been open about the dangers of not fully controlling how AI is developed. "We need an immediate PAUSE on advanced AI development, and a permanent BAN on superintelligence — an artificial mind smarter than any human, capable of operating independently beyond our control. Countries around the world must work together to prevent this nightmare scenario," Sanders added. He went on to say he is introducing legislation to direct the "federal government to not just stop superintelligence here in the United States, but to work to prevent it from being developed anywhere around the world." "The future of humanity cannot be left in the hands of a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. The American people and people throughout the world must determine that future," Sanders concluded. The warning came on the same day in which [OpenAI](https://www.ibtimes.com/topic/openai) released its latest model, GPT-6 Astra, which company President Greg Brockman called the beginning of the artificial general intelligence (AGI) era. "I think it might be about this model," Brockman told press when asked if it could in fact herald AGI. The company claimed that Astra is a step closer to [AI agents](https://www.ibtimes.com/topic/ai) doing complex work on their own. The model was built by using more than 100,000 GPUs in its Texas site. It is also the first model to use other ones to supervise its training. GPT-6 Astra will initially be available to a limited amount of organizations but will soon expand to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise customers and API developers. Before the release, company CEO Sam Altman said future models will force companies to move more cautiously as their capabilities increasingly outpace the safeguards designed to control them, adding that OpenAI is already slowing parts of its development. "I think it might be about this model," Brockman told press when asked if it could in fact herald AGI. The company claimed that Astra is a step closer to [AI agents](https://www.ibtimes.com/topic/ai) doing complex work on their own. The model was built by using more than 100,000 GPUs in its Texas site. It is also the first model to use other ones to supervise its training. GPT-6 Astra will initially be available to a limited amount of organizations but will soon expand to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise customers and API developers. Before the release, company CEO Sam Altman said future models will force companies to move more cautiously as their capabilities increasingly outpace the safeguards designed to control them, adding that OpenAI is already slowing parts of its development. OpenAI disclosed this week that Astra has reached what the company calls its "Critical" cybersecurity capability threshold. According to [OpenAI](https://openai.com/index/path-to-astra/), the model can, when equipped with the necessary tools and access, discover previously unknown security vulnerabilities and develop methods to exploit them across well-protected computer systems without a human directing each step. Astra is the first OpenAI model to trigger the company's stricter safeguards for critical cyber capabilities. © Copyright IBTimes 2026. All rights reserved.