Yassamin Ansari's Record on AI
Support for limits on advanced AI alongside a yea vote on business AI adoption
Yassamin Ansari has formally backed restrictions on advanced AI. She is an original cosponsor of H.R. 10538, the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026, which would impose a conditional pause on advanced-AI work and prohibit superintelligence. Her record also includes a yea vote on the AI for Main Street Act, a bill that would help small businesses evaluate and use AI.
Neither of those bills has become law. The one measure in her record that has is the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which she voted yea on in 2025 and which covers specified digital forgeries made with AI or other software.
- Party
- Democratic
- State
- Arizona
- Office
- U.S. Representative, Arizona's 3rd Congressional District (current office)
- Age
- 34 as of 2026-11-05 · Source
- Political Leaning
- Congressional Progressive Caucus member (roster checked November 5, 2026).
- Election Status
- AP call reported by Arizona Globe on November 3, 2026 for reelection in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District; not certified.
Yassamin Ansari's Position on AI
Ansari's support for AI restrictions rests on her original cosponsorship of H.R. 10538, recorded on September 24, 2026 in the official bill status record. A cosponsorship is a formal record that her name is on the bill. It is not a roll-call vote, an enacted law or a statement she made in her own words.
As introduced, the bill would do the following:
The bill would also protect whistleblowers, pursue international agreements against superintelligence and restrict federal funding for prohibited activities. Its one defensive exception applies only to the proposed department, for cybersecurity research on systems with specified unauthorized-access characteristics.
Her AI record is not uniformly restrictive. She voted yea on the AI for Main Street Act on January 20, 2026, and her September 2026 press release on a global AI letter also supports American technological leadership. The sources reviewed do not establish blanket opposition to AI, so this profile describes her position as support for specific restrictions alongside a yea vote on the AI for Main Street Act.
- Pause advanced-AI training, modification, fine-tuning and unreleased deployment until a proposed cabinet Department of Artificial Intelligence is staffed and issues safety rules. Limited remedial work is excepted.
- Prohibit developing, deploying, possessing, funding, importing or transferring superintelligence, and systems that show enumerated precursor characteristics.
- Require predeployment approval for advanced models, developer charters, and reporting of discoveries within 24 hours.
- Require pausing and isolating dangerous systems, and potentially rendering them inoperative.
- Set penalties of up to 20 years in prison for specified reckless violations.
- Define advanced AI as systems starting at training compute of 10^25 integer or floating-point operations, adjusted annually. Define superintelligence to include broadly superhuman cognition or a capacity to destroy or disempower humanity.
Background at a Glance
Ansari's birth date and age come from the 2026 Congressional Directory, which records her birth in Seattle, Washington, on April 7, 1992. Her age is calculated from that date. The table lists her current identity and office details, along with the reported 2026 election status.
| Item | Current Record |
|---|---|
| Full name | Yassamin Ansari |
| Born | April 7, 1992, Seattle, Washington |
| Age | 34 years old on November 4, 2026 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Current office | U.S. Representative, Arizona's 3rd Congressional District |
| Office sought | Reelection to Arizona's 3rd Congressional District |
| 2026 election status | AP call reported by Arizona Globe on November 3, 2026; not certified |
Background and Political Leaning
Ansari was born in Seattle, Washington, on April 7, 1992, according to the 2026 Congressional Directory. Her official biography describes her as the daughter of immigrants and as a former Phoenix vice mayor.
She earned a bachelor of arts (B.A.) in international relations from Stanford University in 2014. She then earned a master of arts (M.A.) in international relations and politics from St. John's College, Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, in 2015, according to the directory.
Her professional history includes staff work at the United Nations from 2015 to 2021 and membership on the Phoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024. She also served as Phoenix vice mayor in 2023 and 2024. The directory lists these as historical roles, and this profile does not treat them as a guide to her current committee work.
The official biography says she was sworn into the House in January 2025 and identifies her as the Democratic freshman class president.
No finer ideological label is established in these sources beyond her Democratic Party affiliation. This profile does not infer an ideology from her party, her education or her earlier local office.
Statements and Actions on AI
One AI action in the sources reviewed is a September 17, 2026 press release on her House website. In it, Ansari led a letter from more than 40 House members asking President Trump to pursue global AI security rules.
The letter asks for engagement with allies and China, testing and incident reporting, and safeguards for cyber, biological and military risks. The release also supports American technological leadership.
An advocacy letter is not an international agreement or a federal restriction. This profile reports the letter as a request to the president, and nothing more.
No direct quotation from Ansari on AI appears in the sources this profile relies on. Her cosponsorship of H.R. 10538 is a formal action, and the sources reviewed contain no speech by her explaining the bill.
Policies Supported and Opposed
Only the TAKE IT DOWN Act has become law among the measures in Ansari's record. The other four have not. Three are at the referral stage, and the AI for Main Street Act passed the House and was referred in the Senate.
Both recorded votes are yeas. A yea on a whole bill does not show agreement with every provision in it. Her cosponsorships of H.R. 4640 and H.R. 6371 are formal roles only, and the sources reviewed do not explain her reasons.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is a narrow harmful-use law. It addresses knowing publication of nonconsensual intimate depictions, including specified digital forgeries made with AI or other software. Covered platforms must provide a notice and removal process within one year of enactment and remove covered depictions within 48 hours of a valid request.
It is not a ban on all AI or all synthetic media.
The House-passed AI for Main Street Act addresses business adoption instead. Its text would require small business development centers to help businesses evaluate and use AI, covering training, data and intellectual property, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and trust. The bill authorizes no additional funding.
The sources reviewed do not list any AI policy that Ansari opposed. That gap is an unknown. It is not evidence of opposition.
| Key Date | Measure | Her Role or Vote | Status and Operative Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 28, 2025 | TAKE IT DOWN Act (S. 146) | Recorded yea on House motion to suspend the rules and pass | Passed House 409 to 2; became Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025; restricts publication of nonconsensual intimate depictions, including specified AI forgeries |
| July 23, 2025 (introduced) | Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act of 2025 (H.R. 4640) | Cosponsor, added August 8, 2025; not an original cosponsor | Referred to committees; no enactment recorded |
| December 3, 2025 (introduced) | No Robot Bosses Act (H.R. 6371) | Cosponsor, added July 27, 2026; not an original cosponsor | Referred to committees; no enactment recorded |
| January 20, 2026 | AI for Main Street Act (H.R. 5764) | Recorded yea on House motion to suspend the rules and pass as amended | Passed House 395 to 14; received in Senate January 26, 2026 and referred to committee; no enactment recorded |
| September 24, 2026 | Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026 (H.R. 10538) | Original cosponsor | Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; no enactment recorded |
Current Office and the 2026 Election
Ansari is the current U.S. Representative for Arizona's 3rd Congressional District. The Arizona Globe reported an Associated Press call for her reelection on November 3, 2026.
The call is not a certified result. The sources reviewed contain no certified outcome, which is an evidence limit rather than proof that certification has not happened.
The same report makes explicit calls for Ansari, Grijalva and Stanton, and it lists other Arizona contests as uncalled. The call covers District 3, the district Ansari represents now.
Scope and Open Questions
One limit is that H.R. 10538 is an introduced bill with no recorded enactment. Its latest action in the official record is referral to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, so its pause and superintelligence ban describe what the text would do, not current federal law.
A supportive vote on an AI-use bill does not prove support for every AI deployment. A cosponsorship of a restriction bill does not establish opposition to all AI either.
The record is bounded. It covers the sources this profile reviewed, not every AI statement, speech or roll call by Ansari. Both recorded votes here are yeas, and a nay or Not Voting entry would still not reveal a motive on its own.
Several questions remain open. The sources reviewed do not include speeches explaining her bill cosponsorships, a list of AI policies she opposed, or a finer ideological label.
To check whether H.R. 10538 has changed since the record above, open the bill text on Congress.gov and compare it with the provisions summarized in this profile. For the AI for Main Street Act vote, the House Clerk's record of the roll call is the official source for the recorded vote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has any AI restriction Yassamin Ansari supported become law?
Yes, one measure. The House passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act 409 to 2 on April 28, 2025, with Ansari recorded yea, and it became Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025.
The enrolled bill text covers knowing publication of nonconsensual intimate depictions, including specified digital forgeries created with AI or other software.
Does supporting H.R. 10538 mean Ansari opposes all AI?
No. The sources reviewed do not establish blanket opposition to AI. Her cosponsorship targets advanced AI and superintelligence, while her yea vote on the AI for Main Street Act backs small business adoption of AI.
Neither record shows her position on AI in general.
Is Ansari's 2026 reelection result certified?
The sources reviewed do not show a certified result. The Arizona Globe reported an Associated Press call for Ansari on November 3, 2026, and that call is the reported status here.