Bloomington Proposes Ban on Superintelligence

The ordinance would restrict autonomous AI systems in the city, pending a Council vote and a voter-approval threshold of more than 95%.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a stacked server-rack column chained and padlocked to a concrete plinth against a limestone wall. — Bloomington proposed an ordinance barring the deployment of artificial superintelligence in city limits, liftable only after Council safety findings and approval from more than 95% of registered voters. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Bloomington proposed an ordinance that would prohibit the distribution or deployment of artificial superintelligence in the city. A staff memo recommended approval, and the Common Council could lift the ban only after making specified safety findings and receiving approval from more than 95% of registered city voters. The proposal is at the proposal stage; no artificial superintelligence system is described as shipped or available.

Why it matters

The ordinance is described as a temporary local measure amid state and federal inaction, since neither Indiana nor the federal government has enacted safety rules for artificial superintelligence. Artificial superintelligence refers to a model that can learn and reason like a human, a step beyond today's AI models, and some experts have warned of catastrophic risks from it.

The proposal defines artificial superintelligence as a model that can learn and reason like a human, and it would restrict autonomous systems that modify their own core algorithms, run code outside their initial sandbox, or operate without continuous human oversight where they could affect municipal networks, banking, financial markets or public safety. No performance benchmarks or parameter counts are cited in the proposal.

The players

Bloomington Common Council

The legislative body of Bloomington, Indiana, which will consider the proposed artificial superintelligence ban on second reading.

Bernie Sanders

U.S. Senator who co-introduced a federal proposal to ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence.

Greg Casar

U.S. Representative who co-introduced the federal proposal to ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence.

The details

The ordinance would bar the distribution and deployment of artificial superintelligence within city limits, targeting autonomous systems that can change their own core algorithms, run code beyond their initial sandbox, or perform complex tasks without continuous human oversight where those tasks could affect municipal networks, banking, financial markets or public safety. A sandbox here means an isolated computing environment that limits what software can access. The Council would be able to lift the ban only after making specified safety findings and securing approval from more than 95% of registered city voters.

September: Sanders and Casar introduced a federal proposal to ban the development and deployment of artificial superintelligence, and a British MP introduced a similar prohibition.
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.: The Bloomington Common Council is scheduled to consider the proposal on second reading.

The Tech Race

Bloomington's ordinance sits alongside a federal ban proposal from Sanders and Casar and a parallel prohibition introduced by a British member of Parliament, placing it within a cross-national debate over whether to restrict artificial superintelligence development. Critics argue that a domestic ban or slowdown would hand a definitive technological and military advantage to China.

If adopted, the ordinance would restrict the distribution and deployment of artificial superintelligence within Bloomington city limits, affecting residents and businesses that might otherwise use such systems. The stub does not specify when, or whether, the ordinance would take effect, or how it would be enforced.

The takeaway

Bloomington's proposal is a local attempt to fill a gap left by Indiana and federal inaction on artificial superintelligence. Watch the Common Council's second-reading vote on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., since adoption would require the voter-approval threshold of more than 95% to later lift the ban.