Prince Harry and Meghan, artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton and former White House strategist Steve Bannon are part of a group calling for a ban on AI superintelligence until that technology can be deployed safely, reports Bloomberg.
In a statement organised by nonprofit Future of Life Institute, the group of scientists and public figures advocated for a prohibition on superintelligence development — AI vastly more capable than humans — until there is a broad scientific consensus that it can be done safely and controllably. Other notable signatories include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, economist Daron Acemoglu and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.
The effort includes many new names across a wider swath of professions and political persuasions than previous AI slowdown statements from Future of Life Institute. Max Tegmark, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and president of the Future of Life Institute, says what unites signatories across the political spectrum is that they are humans who care deeply that the future should be one where machines work for people, not new digital overlords.
Tegmark says he is excited to see concern about superintelligent AI getting out of the “nerd bubble” and attracting big names in fields outside technology and science.
Robust regulation required
Future of Life Institute polling shows 73 per cent of respondents in a study of US adults want robust regulation on advanced AI. A recent Gallup poll found 88 per cent of Democrats and 79 per cent of Republicans and independents favoured maintaining rules around AI for safety and security.
Whilst some right-wing leaders like Bannon have been critical about AI risks, other Republican figures with key roles in the Trump administration, including White House AI czar David Sacks, have pushed back against what they view as burdensome regulation proposals that could slow down a promising sector.
Tegmark says he is in touch with Sacks, who did not sign the statement, and that Future of Life Institute’s advocacy for superintelligence controls remains compatible with the desire to push AI forward safely. Sacks wants big data centres for research, Tegmark says, but has never given the impression he is “salivating about building a digital overlord that we’re going to lose control over”.
