The initiative, promoted by the Future of Life Institute, reflects an unusual alliance between scientists, politicians and celebrities from across the ideological spectrum
Photo: Zataka
Social concern about rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a purely technical debate, but a global concern. As evidence of this, more than 800 figures from the scientific, political, religious and cultural fields — including artificial intelligence pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Joshua Bengio, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — have signed an open letter calling for a halt to the development of “superintelligence,” a currently hypothetical form of artificial intelligence capable of surpassing humans at all cognitive tasks.
The document brings together voices from almost all corners of the ideological spectrum: from conservatives such as Steve Bannon (former chief of staff to Donald Trump) and Glenn Beck to progressives such as Susan Rice (former US ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration), and religious figures such as the monk and advisor to the Pope on artificial intelligence issues, Paolo Benanti. They were also joined by five Nobel Prize winners, businessman Richard Branson and actor Stephen Fry.
The initiative, promoted by the Future of Life Institute (FLI), does not call for a symbolic pause: it calls for a complete ban on the development of super-intelligent systems, which will only move forward when there is “broad scientific consensus” on their safety and verifiable public support.
The gap between society and big technology companies
The message coincides with the publication of a report by the Future of Life Institute…
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