Steve Bannon, Meghan Markle, and Stephen Fry are among over 800 public figures who have united in an unprecedented call to halt the creation of superintelligent AI systems. These figures, including AI researchers, politicians, and celebrities, argue that the development of AI capable of surpassing human intelligence should be prohibited until further safety measures are in place.
The group, which includes notable AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, as well as former Irish President Mary Robinson and Prince Harry, signed a statement demanding a ban on superintelligence development. They emphasize the need for scientific consensus on the safety of such AI systems before allowing their progress.
The Future of Life Institute (FLI), which released the letter, also shared the results of a poll showing that only 5% of Americans support unregulated AI development. The majority, nearly 75%, favor stronger regulations to manage AI’s evolution responsibly.
Max Tegmark, FLI president, stressed that the growing concern is not about competing tech companies, but about the potential risks posed by the machines themselves. He noted that more people are beginning to see superintelligence as a major threat to humanity.
Leading AI companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google are all competing to develop superintelligence or artificial general intelligence, which refers to systems that can outperform humans in a wide range of tasks. This competition is intensifying despite the calls for regulation.
While the recent statement does not demand a full pause on AI progress, Tegmark clarified that it is not suggesting an end to AI development but rather a focus on its safe evolution. Technologies like cancer treatment or self-driving cars do not require superintelligence, he added.
Signatories from China, including Andrew Yao and Ya-Qin Zhang, also support the call. Other notable figures include former U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice and ex-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen.
In response to the growing concern, governments around the world are slowly enacting AI regulations. The European Union is gradually rolling out the EU AI Act, while U.S. states like California, Utah, and Texas have introduced their own laws. However, a proposed 10-year AI regulation moratorium was recently removed from the federal budget.
