Prominent Figures Call for Ban on AI “Superintelligence” Amid Existential Fears
A coalition of high-profile individuals – including Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex – are urging a halt to the growth of artificial intelligence exceeding human capabilities, citing potential threats to humanity. The open letter, released on Wednesday, calls for a prohibition on “superintelligence” until broad scientific consensus confirms it’s safe and controllable development, coupled with widespread public support.
The appeal, directed at tech giants like Google, OpenAI, and Meta Platforms, reflects growing anxieties surrounding the rapid advancement of AI. The signatories warn that the pursuit of AI capable of surpassing human intelligence across all cognitive tasks carries risks ranging from economic disruption and loss of freedoms to national security breaches and, ultimately, human extinction.
“The future of AI shoudl serve humanity, not replace it,” Prince Harry stated in a personal note accompanying the letter. “I believe the true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer. There is no second chance.”
The letter’s 30-word core statement emphasizes the need for caution: “We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in.”
The breadth of the signatories is striking, encompassing figures from diverse fields and political ideologies.AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey hinton, both Turing Award winners, have previously voiced concerns about the dangers inherent in the technology they helped create. The list also includes unexpected names like Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck, American conservative commentators, in what organizers from the Future of Life Institute describe as an effort to reach a wider audience, including supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Other notable signatories include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, British billionaire Richard Branson, former Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, and former national security advisor susan Rice.Actors Stephen Fry and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and musician will.i.am have also added their names to the call for caution.
Gordon-Levitt, whose wife previously served on OpenAI’s board, articulated a common concern: “Yeah, we want specific AI tools that can help cure diseases, strengthen national security, etc. But does AI also need to imitate humans, groom our kids, turn us all into slop junkies and make zillions of dollars serving ads? Most people don’t want that.”
The letter is expected to fuel ongoing debate within the AI research community regarding the feasibility and potential dangers of superhuman AI. According to Max Tegmark, president of the Future of Life Institute and a professor at MIT, the conversation is shifting. “In the past, it’s mostly been the nerds versus the nerds,” Tegmark said. “I feel what we’re really seeing here is how the criticism has gone very mainstream.”
The debate is further complex by concerns that companies are overstating the capabilities of their AI products to attract investment and market share.OpenAI recently faced criticism when a researcher claimed its ChatGPT model had solved previously unsolved math problems, a claim later debunked as simply a elegant summarization of existing online details.
Tegmark’s organization previously issued a similar call for a pause in AI development in March 2023, a plea that went unheeded by major tech companies. Notably, Elon Musk, a prominent signatory of the 2023 letter, simultaneously founded his own AI startup. Tegmark indicated he reached out to the CEOs of major AI developers but does not anticipate their support, acknowledging the intense competitive pressure they face.
“I really empathize for them, frankly, because they’re so stuck in this race to the bottom that they just feel an irresistible pressure to keep going and not get overtaken by the other guy,” Tegmark explained. “I think that’s why it’s so important to stigmatize the race to superintelligence, to the point where the U.S. government just steps in.”
Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Musk’s xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
