US Senator Bernie Sanders recently said he intends to introduce legislation banning AI superintelligence and propose a sort of sovereign wealth fund in which the US would take a 50% stake in AI companies.

Sanders, who is an independent but often collaborates with his Democratic lawmaker colleagues, would need to pass both houses of Congress – currently held by Republicans – and be signed by President Donald Trump to become law. Trump has championed US government investment in AI companies, to "create almost a partnership with the American public".

The US senator spoke to BBC Newsnight about his concerns about artificial intelligence overtaking humanity.