The AI companies have financed themselves in a way that ties their survival to many other sources: local banks, insurance funds, pension funds. Warren compares it to someone scaling a mountain and tying a rope around their waist that’s connected to many different places — if they fall, everything topples. The solution, according to Warren? “Cut the rope. No rope for AI.”

She compared her proposal to the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated more risky investments from commercial banking. Warren also wants a new digital regulator to take the lead on antitrust, privacy, and consumer protection enforcement, and for Congress to refuse to bail out the industry if it slips. “We cannot overstate the importance of accountability,” she said.