Apple Co-Founder and Godfathers of AI Have Signed a Letter Asking for Ban on Superintelligence

Some of the world's brightest minds and most influential individuals signed a letter on Wednesday, asking for a ban on the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), also known as superintelligence. The list of signatories includes Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak; Nobel Prize laureate Geoffrey Hinton, and Turing award winner Yoshua Bengio, both known as “godfathers of AI”; as well as multiple US politicians and Hollywood celebrities. The letter insists on prohibiting the development of AI superintelligence until the world has the chance to build safeguards for it.

Scientists and Tech Leaders Express Concerns Over AI Superintelligence

Future of Life Institute put forward the letter titled “Statement on Superintelligence,” which has been signed more than 23,000 times as of writing this. The list of signatories also includes more than 3,000 public figures from different walks of life.

The statement is short and to the point, and it says, “We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is a broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in.”

As per the letter, if this is not followed and major AI players that are actively developing AGI are not stopped, the consequences can range from economic instability and disempowerment, losses of freedom, dignity, and civil liberties, to national security risk and even “potential human extinction.”

Apart from the Apple Co-Founder and the godfathers of AI, other notable signatories include Virgin Group founder Richard Branson; Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex; the Pope's AI adviser, Paolo Benanti; former US National Security Advisor (under Barrack Obama), Susan Rice; actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sir Stephen Fry, rapper Will.I.am, and others.

While this is not one of the first petitions or letters signed to express concerns about superintelligence, it is the largest such effort where so many influential individuals have shown support for the initiative.

Signing the letter, Bengio said, “To safely advance toward superintelligence, we must scientifically determine how to design AI systems that are fundamentally incapable of harming people, whether through misalignment or malicious use. We also need to make sure the public has a much stronger say in decisions that will shape our collective future.”